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| WILLS EYE HOSPITAL [ Top USA Hospitals - Eye Surgery ] |
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Name |
WILLS EYE HOSPITAL |
| Address |
WILLS EYE HOSPITAL
840 Walnut Street,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - USA
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| Town |
Philadelphia |
| State |
Pennsylvania |
| Country |
USA |
| Post Code |
19107 |
| Phone |
+1-215-928-3000 |
| Fax |
+1-215-825-4715 |
| Email |
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| Website |
http://www.willseye.org |
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| Details
About WILLS EYE HOSPITAL - Eye Surgery Hospital
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About Us
The name has stood for excellence in eye care for more than
a century and a half. Our home in Center City Philadelphia is
one of the most advanced eye centers ever constructed. Not only
are we better able to provide the unequalled care you've come
to expect from Wills Eye, but our education and research capabilities
are second to none.
History of Wills Eye
The first Wills Eye Hospital, containing 70 beds, was located
at the southwest corner of 18th and Race Streets in Philadelphia,
opposite what is now Logan Circle. As a specialty institution
from its inception, Wills played a vital role in establishing
ophthalmology as a separate branch of medicine in this country.
By the early 1900s, Wills Eye had outgrown its quarters. In
1932 the Hospital relocated to a new building at 16th and
Spring Garden Streets. The new Hospital expanded the inpatient
bed capacity to 120, increased outpatient service areas, and
provided additional conference and teaching facilities. In
the 1960s, Wills Eye began to develop subspecialty services,
in addition to its General Ophthalmology Service (now the
Cataract and Primary Eye Care Service). Dealing with particular
diseases or parts of the eye, these services now number nine:
Contact Lens, Cornea, Glaucoma, Neuro-Ophthalmology, Oculoplastics,
Oncology, Pathology, Pediatric Ophthalmology, and Retina.
In 1972, Wills Eye affiliated with Jefferson Medical College
of Thomas Jefferson University. As a result, Wills Eye now
serves as Jefferson's Department of Ophthalmology. All Jefferson
medical students receive their basic eye instruction and training
at Wills Eye. With its continued growth, Wills Eye once again
needed larger quarters. Wills Eye moved to a new facility
at 9th and Walnut Streets in 1980. This new building won several
design awards, and was nearly twice as large as the previous
building. It featured greatly expanded outpatient services
in keeping with the trend toward outpatient care in ophthalmology.
Wills Eye constructed a new state-of-the-art, outpatient facility.
The new Wills Eye, located at 840 Walnut Street, directly
across the street from its current inpatient facility. It
opened in June 2002 and is considered one of the most advanced
eye centers in the world. The eight-story building delivers
a full range of eye care services in a modern, comfortable
setting. The new facility houses an ambulatory surgery center,
physician offices, clinics and a state-of-the-art center for
ophthalmic education and research.
Pioneering Technology
Many of the special instruments and techniques that are commonplace
in ophthalmology were invented or developed at Wills Eye.
During its centuries-long history, the Hospital's staff has
pioneered the development of innovative techniques in ophthalmology.
The implantation of an artificial intraocular lens to replace
the cataract patient's own clouded lens was pioneered in the
United States in 1952 by Warren Reese, M.D., and Turgut Hamdi,
M.D., of the Hospital staff. Other revolutionary cataract
surgery procedures were developed by former Wills Eye resident
Charles Kelman, M.D. A vitrectomy machine, now widely used
for eye microsurgery, was invented in 1972 by Wills Eye physician
Jay L. Federman, M.D.
Patient Care Services
For common eye problems to rare sight-threatening diseases,
Wills Eye provides general eye care and nine subspecialty
services attracting patients from throughout the Delaware
Valley, across the country and around the world. The sophistication
of care delivered at Wills Eye can be evidenced by the following
descriptions of the activities performed by our specialty
services:
- The Cataract and Primary Eye Care (CPEC) Service is the
hub of Wills Eye. Approximately 22,000 patients are seen
each year. Wills physicians perform routine eye exams and
refer any serious complications to the Hospital's subspecialty
services. Each year thousands of patients also undergo cataract
surgery at Wills Eye, benefiting from the experience of
world-class surgeons consistently rated as America's best.
- The Contact Lens Service evaluates and fits patients of
all ages and medical conditions with the latest in cosmetic
and therapeutic contact lens technology. With its participation
in major national studies on advances in contact lenses,
this service provides its patients with the newest devices
and the latest information available.
- The Cornea Service is a leading center for corneal transplants
and the treatment of corneal diseases and conditions. More
than 400 corneal transplants are performed at Wills Eye
each year. In addition to corneal transplants, physicians
in the Cornea Service diagnose and treat corneal dystrophies,
abrasions, scars, and congenital corneal problems.
- The Glaucoma Service, the country's largest, treats patients
with the newest laser and surgical techniques and drug therapies
available. The Glaucoma Service Diagnostic Laboratory provides
advanced computerized techniques to uncover the earliest
signs of glaucoma in suspected patients, as well as charting
the progression of the condition, including the slightest
change in the optic nerve, in patients who have already been diagnosed.
- The physicians on the Neuro-Ophthalmology Service have
a long history of investigating and treating optic neuritis,
thyroid-related eye disease, ischemic optic neuropathy,
blepharospasm, and hemifacial spasm.
- The Oculoplastics Service is one of the largest of its
kind in the country. Oculoplastic surgery is a subspecialty
of ophthalmology that focuses on problems surrounding the
eyeball (the lids, the orbit and the lacrimal system) as
well as artificial eyes. The Service also includes a cosmetic surgery unit.
- The Oncology Service, one of the largest in the world,
serves an international patient population. Its physicians
are leaders in the diagnosis and treatment of ocular oncology,
particularly melanoma and retinoblastoma, and have developed
new techniques to save eyes that, in the past, it would
have been necessary to remove.
- The Pathology Service is the backbone of teaching at Wills
Eye. It conducts ongoing research into the broad spectrum
of ocular diseases. It features state-of-the-art technology,
and is a center of activity for Wills residents and fellows,
as well as for Jefferson medical students.
- The Pediatric Ophthalmology Service treats the unique
ocular problems of children including strabismus (crossed
eyes) and amblyopia (lazy eye). Physicians also perform
cataract surgery on infants as early as a few weeks old.
A pediatric contact lens service at Wills Eye fits and stocks
lenses exclusively for children.
- The Retina Service was the first subspecialty service
at Wills Eye. Today, an average of 15,000 patients are diagnosed
and treated here each year. All vitreoretinal diseases are
treated at Wills Eye, including macular degeneration, diabetic
retinopathy, uveitis, and retinitis pigmentosa.
Other Services
Other ocular services at Wills Eye include: the Refractive Surgery
Unit, the Foerderer Center for the Study of Eye Movement Disorders
in Children, the Center for Sports Vision, the Low Vision Service,
and a 24-hour Emergency Service open 365 days a year.
Wills Eye Surgical Network
Wills Eye has also branched into the community with a network
of same-day surgery centers throughout Pennsylvania, New Jersey
and Delaware. The centers offer care that reaches beyond ophthalmology
to other surgical specialties such as orthopedics, pediatrics,
plastics, and ear, nose and throat. Wills Eye also provides
laser vision correction at its center in downtown Philadelphia
and centers throughout the tri-state region.
Education
Wills Eye built its outstanding reputation as a pioneer in ophthalmic
education by establishing the first ophthalmology residency
program in the country in 1839. Admission to the residency program
is extremely competitive and only eight physicians are selected
every year from as many as 200 applicants. Wills currently has
26 residents enrolled in the three-year program, making it one
of the largest ophthalmic training programs in the country.
In 1999, Wills Eye signed an agreement with Cooper Health System
of Camden, NJ, which allows Wills Eye to provide training in
ophthalmology to Cooper's residents. The agreement is important
because it enhances the Wills Eye world-renowned residency program
by giving Wills Eye an additional presence in Southern New Jersey
and providing residents with a higher volume of cases.
In addition to the residency program, Wills maintains fellowships
in more than 11 ophthalmic subspecialty areas. At the present
time there are 22 ophthalmologists enrolled in clinical fellowship
programs.
The Wills Eye Society is a non-profit organization of more than
500 ophthalmologists who completed their residency at Wills.
The organization's purpose is to provide financial and professional
support for the educational aspects of the residency educational
program and research activities at Wills Eye.
Wills also has a long-standing academic and clinical relationship
with Thomas Jefferson University Hospital and Jefferson Medical
College. Wills serves as Jefferson's Department of Ophthalmology
and Jefferson medical students rotate through Wills Eye as part
of their training.
Research
Research has a long and distinguished history at Wills Eye.
It is carried out in the laboratories of the Research Department
(which was first formally organized in 1952), in many of the
Wills subspecialty services, and in cooperative efforts involving
both ophthalmologists and laboratory scientists.
Macular degeneration, Stickler syndrome, glaucoma and ocular
cancers in children and adults are the primary areas of research
taking place at Wills Eye using the most advanced scientific
equipment. Through molecular genetics, gene identification and
gene sequencing investigators are compiling critical data for
use in future treatments or cures of these blinding diseases.
A major aspect of research is directed at improving the diagnosis
of diseases and conditions and at developing better methods
of treatment. Other studies are aimed at developing new treatments
for infectious or inflammatory eye disease, either of which,
if not treated promptly and effectively, can permanently diminish
sight.
Endowed Chairs
The first endowed chair at Wills Eye was the Thomas David Duane
Professorship in Ophthalmology. It was named after the former
Ophthalmologist-in-Chief and was established in 1987 to fund
ongoing research at the Hospital.
The Board of Directors of City Trusts, Wills' governing body,
authorized $4.5 million to establish and seed four new clinical
research chairs. The chairs were awarded to the Cornea Service,
the Glaucoma Service, Ocular Oncology and Ophthalmic Pathology.
The Pathology Chair is already fully funded, thanks to the generous
support of Sara L. Simmonds, wife of the late Noel T. Simmons,
M.D., a Wills ex-resident. As a result, the Pathology chair
was named the Noel T. and Sara L. Simmonds Professorship in
Ophthalmic Pathology.
By a unanimous vote of the Board of Directors of City Trusts,
the Glaucoma chair was named for Louis J. Esposito, President
of the Board of Directors of City Trusts and a staunch, long-time
supporter of Wills Eye.
Community Outreach
Wills Eye maintains a Free Public Eye Screening that has been
held in the Wills Eye building every spring since 1980 for members
of the community. Adults and children over the age of three
are screened for various eye problems by members of the Wills
Eye medical staff who volunteer their time. The visual acuity
of screening participants is tested by Wills Eye ophthalmic
technicians.
Governance
Wills is managed by a tripartite organization consisting of
the Board of Directors of City Trusts, the Wills Eye administration,
and the medical staff. Overall policy — including matters pertaining
to selection, direction, and accountability of management —
is determined by the Board of Directors of City Trusts. Establishment
of institutional objectives and decisions relating to the operations
are the responsibility of the Wills administration. Strategies
and administrative concerns relating to professional matters,
the residency program, and research are under the purview of
the Ophthalmologist-in-Chief and Executive Council of the medical
staff.
Board of Directors of City Trusts
In his bequest, James Wills stipulated that Wills be administered
by the Mayor of Philadelphia or his representatives. In 1869,
the Pennsylvania legislature established the Board of Directors
of City Trusts for the purpose of administering such funds left
in trust to the City.
The Board consists of twelve citizens of Philadelphia, appointed
by and accountable to the Judges of the Court of Common Pleas
of Philadelphia. Members of the Board, who are named for life
or during good behavior, serve without compensation. The Mayor
and the President of the Council of the City of Philadelphia
are ex-officio members. The Board is required to report annually
to the above Court, the legislature of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,
and the Council of the City of Philadelphia on the condition
and status of the trusts, which it administers.
The Board's bylaws provide that matters relating to Wills Eye
shall be supervised by a standing committee of the Board, the
Hospital and Research Committee. In addition, another of the
Board's standing committees, the Joint Conference Committee,
is responsible for the supervision of all medical affairs related
to the administration of Wills. The CEO of Wills consults frequently
with the Chair of the Hospital Committee on all matters of Wills
policy, organizational changes, and major operational problems.
Wills Eye Policy
Since its founding, Wills Eye has been treating anyone needing
ophthalmic care without regard to creed, color, sex or financial
status. Therefore, when the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed,
Wills Eye was already in compliance with the formal requirements
that no person shall, on the grounds of race, color or national
origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied benefits
of, or otherwise be subjected to discrimination in the provision
of any care or service.
This nondiscriminatory policy of Wills Eye applies to patients,
physicians and employees as well. Under no circumstances will
the application of this policy result in the segregation or
resegregation of buildings, wings, floors or rooms for reasons
of race, color, national origin or financial status.
Wills Eye Officials
James J. Mulvihill Chief Executive Officer, Wills Eye William
Tasman, M.D. Ophthalmologist-in-Chief, Wills Eye.
Accreditation and Approvals
- Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations
- Pennsylvania Department of Health
- Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education
- Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education of the American Medical Association
- College of American Pathologists
Memberships
- American Association of Eye and Ear Hospitals
- Council of Specialty Surgical Facilities and Institutes.
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