About Us

Cataracts are the leading cause of preventable blindness worldwide. In Honduras alone, there are more than 50,000 people who suffer from cataract blindness. For almost all of these patients, vision can be fully restored with minimal resources and a 20-minute surgery. For 20 years, ECHO Foundation (Eradicating Cataracts Honduras Outreach) has supported Honduran ophthalmology with a three-fold mission: support sustainable practices that increase surgical volumes, contribute to educational and infrastructure improvements, and help grow the ophthalmology sector in Honduras.

 Before and After Cataract Surgery.

In 2013, ECHO Foundation began a partnership with the San Pedro Sula Lions Eye Hospital Fraternidad to increase the number of cataract surgeries performed at their facility as part of ECHO’s Unidos Visión Sustainability Initiative. For the past 10 years, Hospital Fraternidad has performed hundreds of cataract surgeries per year, but has yet to break 1,000. Similarly sized facilities in the developed world routinely perform several thousand surgeries per year. Along the way, we have learned that a major obstacle to increasing the number of sight-saving surgeries at Hospital Fraternidad is outdated, broken, or missing equipment.

To overcome this problem and increase the number of cataract surgeries in Honduras, we have launched a three-year fundraising campaign to bring modern equipment to this non-profit eye hospital. Over a three year period, we will launch twelve fundraising campaigns (this is campaign #2), each focused on a vital piece of equipment. With this new equipment, we expect to increase surgical volumes to 1,500 per year!

What We Need & What You Get

The second step of this three-year program to increase surgical volumes is to add a new set of cataract surgery instruments at Hospital Fraternidad, as well as enough surgical supplies to perform over 1,000 surgeries in 2015.

The current surgical instruments have been in use for quite a while, and don't include all of the instruments that can make a surgeon's job easier. The new set will consist of brand-new high quality surgical instruments, and will be tailored to meet the preferences of Drs. Pacheco and Ramirez. Happy surgeons using brand-new instruments tailored to their surgical preferences increases quality of care and the number of surgeries that can be performed. As part of this campaign, we will also help Hospital Fraternidad purchase enough supplies to exceed 1,000 cataract surgeries for 2015.

With the successful close of each quarterly campaign, we work with our partners in the US and Honduras to purchase, ship, and install the new equipment. The new operating microscopes purchased following campaign #1 are already in use at Hospital Fraternidad! Finally, we also collaborate to ensure that there are adequate resources to maintain the equipment that is being placed in the hospital.

One of the new microscopes from campaign #1 in use!

Perks

For the many of you out there thinking about it:

$25 – Thumbs up! Receive a personalized thank you post card.

$100 – Join the wall of fame! Your name will be displayed on a special wall in the hospital with other supporters (plus the above).

$250 – Wear your support! You will receive one of the 25 limited edition t-shirts designed especially for this project (plus all of the above).

$1000 – Join the club! Become a member of the select group who have supported ECHO at the Buena Vista level ($1,000 and above). You will be publicly recognized on ECHO’s website and receive a commemorative plaque thanking you for your support (plus all of the above).

$5000 – See the impact first hand in Honduras! You will receive an invitation to join one of the quarterly surgical brigades that ECHO runs and see first-hand the great work that local and volunteer doctors can do with the right equipment (plus all of the perks above).

The Wall of Fame

The Impact

Reaching 1,500 cataract surgeries per year is a realistic goal for Hospital Fraternidad with modern equipment because of the following reasons:

1.  There is a clear demand for these surgeries.

2.  ECHO and the San Pedro Sula Lions are organizations with a long-term commitment to addressing cataract blindness in Honduras.

3.  There is a growing team of committed doctors, technicians, nurses and administrators (both in the US and Honduras) working to eradicate cataract blindness.

These factors have produced a growth in the number of surgeries performed at Hospital Fraternidad from 453 in 2012 to over 800 in 2014. However, the hospital’s main bottleneck relates to the antiquated equipment that its medical staff must rely on or the missing equipment they lack.

ECHO Foundation has a 20 year track record as a protagonist for Honduran ophthalmology. The San Pedro Sula Lions have been working on issues related to Honduran ophthalmology for more than 20 years. There is every reason to expect that the hospital will one day perform 2,500 cataract surgeries per year.

 

Our team of dedicated ECHO and San Pedro Sula Lions members

Risks & Challenges

Ordinarily, it would be difficult to quantify the impacts placing surgical equipment at a facility in a developing country has on surgical volumes and facility sustainability. This is why we will be working with the San Pedro Sula Lions to closely monitor our surgical impacts, as well as the impact of our expansion program on the hospital’s financial status. 

Keeping functional equipment working and in good condition has historically been difficult at facilities in developing countries. Some of the revenues from increased surgical volumes are being set aside in a maintenance reserve to be used when needed to ensure that the equipment will remain in top working condition.

This campaign is just the second step in turning the Lion’s Hospital into a modern facility that can effectively eliminate cataract blindness in Honduras. Building upon existing in-country resources and working with an established local network will maximize the effect of each capital equipment impact. Even with limited resources, the Lions Hospital has performed hundreds of surgeries per year in the past. Your support in this campaign will allow us to grow the hospital to full operating capacity and positively impact the more than 50,000 poor cataract blind people in Honduras.

Other Ways You Can Help

Your support doesn’t just need to be a donation. It helps us and the people of Honduras if you just share the link and spread the word with your friends and family!

Use Indiegogo share tools to share this campaign. Like our facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Unidos-Vision/423592447707117 and stay tuned to future campaigns and ECHO’s website for updates: www.operationECHO.org

You can also find out other ways you can support and volunteer for the cause by contacting Kyle Coffey through email kcoffey@operationecho.org