Tuesday, September 30, 2008

The Quang Tri Project


How, you may be asking, did the Illinois Association of Ophthalmology become interested in Quang Tri Province, Vietnam? And why are Dr. Jim Katz and IAO executive director Rich Paul going there? Best I can say is that it's almost the result of hapenstance.


While we were planning the logistics, we got in touch with a travel agency -- Global Spectrum -- which is located in the Washington, DC, area. They specialize in trips to Southeast Asia and, in particular, Vietnam. In a conversation with the agency owner, Marcia Selva, some issues of blindness and other possible eye diseases in Quang Tri Province came up. One thing led to another and the IAO leadership decided to see if there's something we can do to help address the needs there. The result is the "side trip" by Dr. Katz and Rich Paul to Dong Ha and surrounding areas.


The purpose of this visit is not to treat patients, but rather to get a handle on what sorts of eye care problems face the residents in Quang Tri. It appears that there is a rather high incidence of blindness, so the obvious question is: why? And what can be done about it? Our hope is that with the information gathered on our initial trip, plus other data collected, we will be able to put together a project to help address the needs in Quang Tri through a partnership with local organizations and the Illinois Association of Ophthalmology.


We are very grateful to be working with the Global Community Service Foundation, a non-profit associated with the Global Spectrum travel agency. In particular, their three representatives in Vietnam -- Dung K. Chu, Thang C. Dang (Dung's husband), and Tam X. Nguyen who is based in Quang Tri -- have been invaluable in organizing our trip. Tam has arranged visits to several locations throughout Quang Tri for Dr. Katz to conduct screening exams so we can better understand the eye conditions in the area.


We will be in Quang Tri from Wednesday, October 8 through Saturday, October 11. As the week progresses, I'll be posting reports about our experiences.


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