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The Flying Eye Hospital lands in Goodyear

The goal is for the healthcare professionals they train will pass those skills onto others in the region.

Goodyear, AZ- The world’s only flying eye hospital has landed at the Goodyear Airport Sunday morning. The Orbis Flying Eye Hospital is in the Valley resupplying before it heads off to Peru in a week.

“We go all over the developing world training healthcare professionals within the ophthalmology community. The nurses. The anesthesiologist. The biomed engineers. It’s sort of the ‘how to fish philosophy,’” said Bruce Johnson, director of aircraft operations for Orbis International.

The goal is for the healthcare professionals they train will pass those skills onto others in the region.

The former FedEx freight plane is a fully equipped hospital.

A passenger area that doubles as a classroom where healthcare professionals can watch a live procedure on a monitor. It also has a laser treatment room, an operating room and a recovery room at the back of the plane.

In addition to training. The hospital treats members of the local community.

“In the last five years alone, we’ve done 12.8 million eye exams. Done roughly, 36,000 surgical procedures,” said Johnson.

The hospital is self-sustaining. Has its own generators – air conditioners – water purifier – makes its own hospital grade oxygen.

Orbis International is a non-profit organization. The pilots and healthcare trainers all volunteer their time.

For more information, visit orbis.org.

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