FEATURE/South Florida Doctor Inspires Eye Clinic in Guayaquil, Ecuador.

BOCA RATON, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE FEATURES)--July 14, 1999--

Lupe Eyde has seen the miracles ophthalmologists from the United States can offer the poor people of her city.

"There was a man who had cancer in the eye. First the surgeons saved his life. Then, they made a prosthesis for his eye. He would never have been able to afford to be treated had it not been for the U.S. volunteers," said Eyde, who is a resident of Guayaquil and a member of the local Rotary organization.

Howard Goldman, MD, an ophthalmologist who practices in Boca Raton, Fla., was among those volunteers and remembers the man to which Eyde referred. "We used sterilized screw drivers to do the surgery since we lacked all the proper instruments," he said.

Goldman headed the first U.S. eye team expedition to Guayaquil in 1996 and has participated and sent a team of board-certified ophthalmologists, nurses and other support personnel annually since. During the most recent three-day trip in June, Goldman's team operated on 60 patients and treated about 100 others.

Guayaquil's Rotarians are so inspired by Goldman's commitment to their cause that they plan to build and manage an ophthalmic clinic in Guayaquil, naming it the Ophthalmic Clinic "Dr. Howard Goldman."

"We will select patients constantly and we will take care of minor problems with local doctors and prepare the necessary patients for the annual visits, directed by Dr. Howard Goldman," said Rocio Ampuero, a chemical engineer and treasurer of the Rotary Club Guayaquil Moderno. "Our Ophthalmic Clinic 'Dr. Howard Goldman' is very important for our community because we don't have enough charitable centers that can offer attention and surgeries free of charge for countrymen, old people and mainly for children."

All the Rotary club members agreed to name the clinic after Goldman because of his professional capability and altruism. According to Ampuero, "Dr. Goldman comes with his colleagues and all the technical staff necessary for the journey. They bring all the equipment and instruments and also carry a lot of donations for the program that he gets in advance."

The volunteer medical team represents the Florida Surgical Eye Expeditions, or S.E.E., a nonprofit group that orchestrates trips to developing countries in desperate need of health care. Doctors pay their ways and work for free. Goldman co-founded the Florida S.E.E. with Dr. Jerry Aronowitz in 1980 and today serves as its president.

"We are able to help most of the people we see and have often restored vision for countless people who were legally blind," Goldman said. "Just to see their faces and know that they can see mine makes these trips worthwhile."

The new clinic will be devoted to treating the underprivileged year-round, taking the place of the temporary site available now. The Rotarians will use donated land and plan to raise the $200,000 necessary to build the 8,000-square-foot clinic, which they hope to open in about a year. The Outpatient Surgery Center of Boca Raton, which is part of Eye Associates of Boca Raton, where Goldman practices, will continue to contribute disposable supplies, as well as lend instruments and equipment for trips to the new center.

"I feel honored that my visits have meant so much to Guayaquil's people. Our trips have been frustrating in that we've always had to turn away people in need of help. This year-round clinic could change that," Goldman said. To find out how you can help, call Goldman at Eye Associates of Boca Raton, 561/391-8300. Donations to the Florida S.E.E. are tax deductible.