Dr. Della Rocca, nominated by the New York State Ophthalmological Society, has dedicated himself to providing medical care and teaching to underserved populations throughout the world, especially in Central America and the Middle East. In 1993, Dr. Della Rocca, and his wife Darlene, founded the Volunteer Health Program (VHP), a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing ophthalmic care to the indigent in Latin America. The VHP has collected medical supplies and equipment through donations and fundraising activities, and has organized annual ophthalmic medical/surgical missions, initially to Honduras, and subsequently to Santiago, Dominican Republic. Approximately 100 surgical cases are performed during each mission, including procedures for strabismus, cataract, glaucoma and orbital diseases. Most recently, Dr. Della Rocca traveled to Jerusalem, where he spent two weeks examining patients, performing surgery and helping establish an ophthalmic plastic, orbital and reconstructive surgery service at the St. John Ophthalmic Hospital. He will return yearly to further his work there.
Dr. Lieberman, nominated by the American Glaucoma Society, established the Tibet Vision Project in 1995 as an independent educational program to transfer ophthalmic training skills to the nine-person eye department of the First People's Hospital in Lhasa, Tibet. He and his associates have provided all microscopes, examination equipment and intraocular lens supplies for more than 15 eye camps throughout central Tibet. Dr. Lieberman has donated two months each year for eight years to travel to Tibet to oversee each mission. The Tibet Vision Project also has underwrit
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American Academy of Ophthalmology
28-Aug-2003