Melvin Jones Lions Eye Hospital
With the dream of a Cataract-Free Odisha, the members of the Lions Club of Cuttack established a true "temple of service" in the year 1998, known as the Melvin Jones Lions Eye Hospital.
I have taken charge as the Secretary of the Hospital Trust following the most unfortunate and untimely demise of my elder brother and Charter Member of our Club, Lion Vipin J. Doshi, MJF, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. I will put my absolute best efforts into the further development of the hospital and to continue serving the poor and downtrodden segments of our society.
Until now, our primary emphasis was strictly on Cataract Surgeries, because in India, 80% of blindness is caused by cataracts. Even though the overall prevalence of cataract-related blindness is projected to decrease, the absolute number of cataract-blind individuals in India increased from 7.75 million in 2001 to 8.25 million in 2020 due to the substantial demographic shift in the population aged over 50 years.
To address expanding clinical demands, we have successfully inaugurated the new Retina Section in our hospital. We are going to start advanced Retina surgeries very soon. Diabetic Retinopathy remains a priority service area for Lions Clubs throughout the world, and we desire to expand this into a state-of-the-art Retinopathy Department.
I also actively desire to work toward the deep modernization of all general hospital services, alongside executing a plan for full computerisation in the near future.
I seek the cooperation and collective support of all Trust Members in my endeavours.