How Nonprofit ACE Global Eradicates Preventable Blindness One Country at a Time with Dr. Kevin Barber (Episode #73)

By Vision Beyond Sight on Passion, podcast, vision improvement, Vision Rehabilitation

Dr. Lynn Hellerstein of Vision Beyond Sight speaks with Dr. Kevin Barber, ophthalmologist, cataract surgeon, and president of ACE Global. Kevin talks about causes of preventable blindness like cataracts and refractive errors, and how his experiences with the healthcare of low-income countries and his own diagnosis of muscular dystrophy inspired him to establish ACE Global, a nonprofit aimed at equipping eyecare providers in other countries with skills and resources to eradicate preventable blindness through live and virtual mentorship under residency and fellowship programs driven by donations, partnerships and volunteerism.

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Preventable blindness – causes and conditions like refractive error and cataracts
The reality of the economy of healthcare for the poor in low-income countries
Dr. Barber’s diagnosis of FSH muscular dystrophy that propelled him to contribute in teaching and training eyecare teams in other parts of the world
Establishing ACE Global from both a medical and socio-economic standpoint
Running and funding the ACE Global nonprofit through volunteer healthcare providers
Supplementing surgical education in residency programs
Bringing the students in the US through a fellowship program that resulted to 1,000 graduates
How to help and contribute to ACE Global’s initiatives through donations, partnerships and online mentoring
Seeing a world without blindness
New research in the eyecare field about glaucoma and cataracts

About Dr. Kevin Barber:

Dr. Kevin Barber is a board-certified ophthalmologist with Central Florida Eye Specialists in DeLand, Florida. He has a strong passion for helping restore the sight of those less fortunate, and as the president of ACE Global he hopes to be able to change the lives of individuals worldwide needlessly living with vision impairment. His professional interests include laser refractive cataract surgery, minimally invasive glaucoma (MIGS), and international ophthalmology. In his free time, Dr. Barber enjoys travel, cycling, paddle boarding, surfing and spending time with his wife and children.

Connect with Dr. Kevin Barber and ACE Global:

Website | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn | Twitter

“There’s a real limitation in how much education, especially surgical education that these young doctors [in low-income countries] receive. So when they do graduate, oftentimes they’re just not ready for independent surgery. They go out, they try, they have complications, they give up, and we’ve just spent eight years training a surgeon who cannot operate. And after that happens for decades, that’s how the blindness epidemic kind of came to be. We have lots of global ophthalmologists in low-income countries that can’t do surgery. So we decided that’s where we would start.” – Dr. Kevin Barber

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Dr. Lynn Hellerstein, Developmental Optometrist, co-owner of Hellerstein & Brenner Vision Center, P.C., award-winning author and international speaker, holds powerful and inspiring conversations with her guests in the areas of health, wellness, education, sports and psychology. They share their inspirational stories of healing and transformation through their vision expansion. Vision Beyond Sight Podcast will help you see with clarity, gain courage and confidence. Welcome to Vision Beyond Sight!

Dr. Lynn’s books are available at Amazon.com and www.lynnhellerstein.com/shop.

Dr. Lynn is available for speaking engagements and consulting. For more information, visit www.lynnhellerstein.com.

To learn more about vision therapy or to find a doctor providing vision therapy in your area, visit: COVD.org.

To learn more about vision and the impact in concussion/brain injury, visit: Neuro-Optometric Rehabilitation Association.