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Welcome

Dear University of Wisconsin Ophthalmology Alumni,

Greetings to you and your loved ones on behalf of University of Wisconsin Ophthalmology Alumni Association. As you know we have reason to be extremely proud and the honored to be an Alumni of one of America's foremost and prestigious ophthalmology programs. It is obvious as we read journals that arrive in our offices every month that the University Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences' faculty is well represented. At our most recent Alumni Board meeting, it was noted that in 2005 the UW Medical School Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences ranked third in the nation for NIH funding. Several of our faculty members had received awards in 2006. These include David Gamm, M.D. Ph.D., Barbara Klein, M.D. MPH, Ronald Klein, M.D. MPH, and Dan Albert M.D., MS. Eleven of our faculty have been named to the 2006 Best Doctors list the State of Wisconsin.

The physical structure of the Department has changed and improved. Research space at the Medical Science Center (MSC) has added 4000 sqft. of laboratory space and two additional labs. The remodeling project for the Department will be completed in August 2007. The Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences successfully recruited the following positions: Dan Knoch (comprehensive) starting July 1, 2007, Vivek Patel (neuro- ophthalmology) starting August 15, 2007, and Julia Agapov (glaucoma -- clinical) starting September 1, 2007. Things are happening.

The Alumni Association was founded some 12 years ago. Under the consistent and excellent leadership of our Executive Director, Dr. Richard Dortzbach, membership has grown greatly. We are fortunate to have Dr. Paul Kaufman, the Chair of the Department, attend meetings and give significant input and advice to us all. If you are a member, we thank you for your support. If you are not, we eagerly would like you to join us. Your membership helps the Association achieve its goals and helps us all to stay in touch with each other and with the University.

The purpose of the Alumni Association is threefold. First, to lend support to our current residents. Second, to support the Department in efforts towards teaching, clinical services, and research. Our final goal is to promote friendship and fellowship among fellow alumni.

In terms of resident support, the Association has instituted programs and has addressed several needs. For example, an educational fund was established to help defray the cost of textbooks for every first-year resident. This year that fund was increased this year to help pay the cost of surgical loupes. In addition, computer equipment has been supplied to the residents in order to hold cataract cases, the teaching file, presentations, pictures taken with the on-call camera, and other educational items. Funds are given to the third-year residents who presented papers at the ARVO meeting. The Association administers Dr. deVenecia's Travel Fund to the AAO for third-year residents.

Funds that the Alumni Association raises, primarily from dues and contributions, have helped to develop the surgical practice lab at the VA Hospital. We have contributed funds for the James Allen Memorial Library. We also sponsor the George Kambara and the Alice McPherson Lectures at the annual Wisconsin Eye MD Symposium. We are currently contemplating the possibility of Internet grand rounds, although this is just in its infancy, in terms of a final product.

The Alumni Association can benefit you in many ways, every year at the Academy meeting, we host an Alumni reception. At the reception there is a bulletin board on Alumni and Department News. It's an opportunity to meet retired faculty, current residents, and renew friendships with your fellow residents and with former fellows. There is good food and beverage supplied.

There is an Alumni dinner during the Spring symposium, at which time we usually have a guest speaker. The most recent speaker discussed the plight of the timber wolves after their reintroduction into Northern Wisconsin. It was entertaining, educational and a lot of fun. During the last three years at this meeting, we have honored a distinguished alumni. This year's recipient was C. Thomas Dow. His accomplishments and kindnesses were inspiration to us all.

Next year the Department is planning an Extraordinary Ophthalmology meeting being held on July 11-12, 2008 in Madison at the Monona Terrace. We will not be planning a Spring Symposium as in the past, but will try to make arrangements for the Alumni to either have a dinner or lunch during this meeting.

We support UW Ophthalmology Department's web site and help alumni with article retrieval. If you need help locating out-of-print texts and research advice, we can help facilitate those requests.

As the new president of the Alumni Association, I look forward to the opportunity to meeting you at either of these events. It is my hope that the Association will grow and become more meaningful to all of us during these next two years. I'm thankful for the dedication and leadership of Dr. George Davis who has preceded me as President of the Association. I am humbled by the exceptional board members, who devote their time and efforts to the Department and to the Alumni Association. I look forward to working with Dr. Andrew Bousch as President-Elect, as well. I welcome your contacting me by e-mail at pwholm@gmail.com or my office number 715-723-9375.

Please become involved. You can do this by continuing to maintain your membership, and by paying your dues. If you are not currently a member of the Alumni Association, please join us in supporting this program and each other. Personally, I feel it has been a true honor and privilege to have been associated with the Department both during my residency and since. I hope that you all feel the same way.

With sincere and warm personal regards,

Peter W. Holm, M.D. UW Dept of Ophthalmology Alumni Association President Class of 1981.

Featured Alumni

It's a long way from the South Bronx, New York to Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, but Peter Holm was glad he made the journey. As a teenager he moved to Long Island (Oyster Bay, Home of Teddy Roosevelt's summer Whitehouse) and discovered that there were things called trees, and water and clean air. It was the beginning of a continual downsizing from 12,000,000 to 12,000 via College and Medical School at Northwestern University in Evanston and Chicago, respectively. He did his Internship at Loma Linda University where he developed a love of vegetables and came to Madison for his Ophthalmology Residency in 1978 where he planted his first vegetable garden (with the help of eye clinic secretary Karen's pig manure). The Eye Department at Madison was a dream come true for Peter and his wife of four years, Susan. It was a place where Town and Gown worked in concert to create amazing opportunities for the Residents in the program. The Karma was tangible. His first child, Anne, was born there. What a rush!

In 1981 Peter joined Tom Dow in practice in Eau Claire and Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. Two years later, as things became busier in Chippewa Falls, Peter started his own practice there. Currently the practice has three general ophthalmologists and three offices and is still independent in a sea of large multispecialty clinics. Peter, Terry McCanna (Peter McCanna's brother), and Jeff Brown (both graduates of Wills Eye Hospital) love independent practice in Chippewa Falls. The practice is a busy one, but good Karma continues.

Peter's son Joseph was born in Chippewa Falls in 1982.

One of the most cherished parts of Peter's life (besides his family) are his patients. In this small community his patients have become his friends. Home visits are part of the practice. There isn't a spring where flowers aren't brought to his home or the clinic, or a fall when apples, squash and pumpkins don't show up in massive amounts. This love and gratitude makes working late into the day, at nights and weekends all worthwhile.

Peter has been involved in many community projects, was President of the County Medical Society and also St Josephs Hospital, among other things. He enjoys the out of doors and is an avid kayaker, hiker, fisherman (catch and release, fly-casting), cyclist, birdwatcher and phenologist. But mostly he loves life and his good fortune in being able to practice ophthalmology.

The UW Ophthalmology Alumni Association presidency affords Peter another opportunity to enjoy life. He hopes to show all the alums the changes and improvements in the Department and to try to have 100% participation in the Alumni Association. Better communication between the current residents and the former residents is also a goal during his tenure.

Peter can be reached at pwholm@charter.net or by phone at 715-723-9375. If you have any questions concerning the Alumni Association, feel free to contact him.

Distinguished Alumni

Dear Alumni/ae,

"More than a third of our Department faculty have participated in medical mission trips"... "giving time and expertise to many organizations"..."their commitments have taken them to many developing countries." (DOVS Ann. Report 2006). This year, our Distinguished Alumnus-of-the-year Award goes to a former resident who shared the motivation of these faculty. Dr. Richard Lewis and his family spent a decade in Afghanistan in order to care for patients that needed help very badly.Dr. Lewis

Originally from Oregon, the Lewises went to Afghanistan first in 1992 in order to work for three years with the International Assistance Mission (I.A.M.), a global service organization. Richard did family practice and community development while Melinda directed the home school teaching of their four children. The need for better eye care was so moving that Richard developed a plan. First, he and his family returned to the US, he entered our residency program and finished it in 1998 with distinction. Then, he went to Afghanistan again, and from 1999 to 2007 the Lewises lived in Kabul with Richard working at the University Eye Hospital in order to both personally provide and organize better eye care. He became Medical Director of the NOOR (Persian word for "light") Eye Program which is responsible for seeing ≥ 270,000 patients and performing more than 15,000 surgeries every year. While providing comprehensive care and consultation on complex cases, he also participated in rural eye camps, gave lectures to Afghan physicians, and developed a curriculum and certification program for ophthalmology residents.

Instead of choosing to start a profitable career here in the US, Richard became a volunteer raising his own support and putting up with events that the Lewises shared from time to time by letters, email notices, and photos: 7/99: "On most days we hear a few outgoing rockets, otherwise we have been blessed with days of peace and normalcy, Kabul style. The number of patients with terrible conditions is astounding... there are 11 ophthalmologists in this city of over 1 million." In 2001, the hard place got harder. All foreigners including Christian help groups had to leave the country within 72 hours. The I.A.M. workers were told that "their work in Afghanistan was finished forever." --- But in Feb. 2002 we heard: "81 days after being expelled, a new government invited us back". The Lewises returned to resume and, hopefully, expand their work.

In summary, Richard Lewis is a graduate of our Residency Program and a board-certified ophthalmologist who has accomplished outstanding professional community service as a volunteer in Afghanistan. As to his distinction, I cannot put it better than Dr. Todd Perkins who wrote: "Dr. Lewis was distinguished even at the beginning of his residency...I believe that the Distinguished Alumnus Award of the DOVS would itself be distinguished by Rich's history of service in an area of the world so clearly in need of support."

Congratulations to Richard on this award presented on July 11, 2008.

Yours Truly,

Ingolf H. Wallow, M.D.
Professor (Emeritus)
UW-MS, DOVS

Distinguished Alumnus Award Nomination Form

Alumni Accomplishments

Christopher L. Larson, MD 1975, was given the WMAA Service Award, which honors an alumnus who has exhibited exceptional commitment to the WMAA over the years. Larson, who has practiced comprehensive ophthalmology in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, for more than two decades, has been a dedicated member of the WMAA for many years. Larson has served as a board member, executive committee member, president elect and, from 2002-04, as president. He has been on the editorial board of the Quarterly since 2001 , has served as chair of the editorial board since 2002 and alumni editor since 2004.

From Chippewa Falls, WI to India-- My Experience with CBF

Peter Holm, MD

In February, Dr. Steve Sauer, Dr. Suresh Chandra, myself and my son Joseph visited Delhi and the province of Rajasthan in northern India. We had the opportunity to visit the Shroff Charity Eye Hospital in Delhi and journeyed to Alwar to see the satellite clinic for eye surgery and eye care that is sponsored by the Combat Blindness Foundation (CBF).

Already in place was a core network of excellent eye surgeons with whom we could exchange ideas and introduce our thoughts and some newer concepts. The true" mission" for me was to understand the tremendous need in India for services to help those blinded by cataracts.

The facilities at the Shroff Charity Eye Hospital were staffed by extraordinarily bright and compassionate medical doctors, but the equipment was only adequate and there were not enough physicians to serve the needs of the poor people blinded by cataract and other eye diseases. (There are approximately 6 million people blinded from cataracts in India). These ophthalmologists work steadily in clinics and operating rooms six full days a week with donated equipment, some of which were reused after sterilization. Their work did not suffer because of this; it was as good or better than the skills I have seen in the United States, but there was just not enough help and material for all those in need.

I was impressed by the ophthalmologists' level of dedication to the poor, who were treated with kindness and dignity. With us, they were so patient and generous with their time that I almost felt uncomfortable, as I don't like to be spoiled or coddled, and I didn't want to take time away from patient care.

As I understand it, the hospital needs to become self-sustainable and needs to establish an outstanding reputation in the community that they serve. Even among the poor, pure Charity hospitals can sometimes be considered inferior to private hospitals.

The need to become an outstanding hospital requires the need for an improvement in its infrastructure in the form of books, equipment, and recruitment of more ophthalmologists. CBF has made a commitment to help the hospital achieve these goals. As part of the team that visited the Shroff Charity Eye Hospital, I have a better understanding of the need and will try to help them accomplish it with my time and monetary contributions.

The Alwar clinic and surgery hospital was a concrete example of CBF's commitment to help those blinded by cataracts. It was created and improved through a partnership with CBF. In this town of approximately 50,000, there is only one ophthalmologist who does ten cataract surgeries in the morning and then has a full clinic all afternoon. He does this six days a week and is on call for traumatic eye injuries at night.

He does his job well and with few complaints. Another ophthalmologist (at least), is needed to help him. (Eau Claire, Wisconsin, a town of approximately 50,000, has 11 ophthalmologists to take care of the same population). CBF is trying to help provide him with another ophthalmologist and with equipment needed to try to double the surgical output of this facility.

The need in India and other developing countries is almost beyond our comprehension. The mission is to help as many people as possible by improving and expanding hospitals like the Shroff Charity Eye Hospital.

India is a place of stark contrast. Poverty is not as compartmentalized as it is in the United States. It is apparent in most places you go, and it is extreme. To see children filling water bottles in mud puddles with no shelter other than tents constructed on tarps, cardboard, and scrap wood, was heartbreaking. Children begging for food, sometimes missing a hand or foot, or tapping at your car window at a red light, and then driving to see the Taj Mahal in all its splendor, causes extreme distress to the central nervous system of anybody who witnesses this. My son and I decided to devote our conversations on how to help those people with the tools we had available to us.

Having said this, the countryside is a stark contrast to the slums surrounding the city. It was beautiful. Miles and miles of wheat and mustard, flocks of parrots, women dressed in colorful saris tending the fields. Camels walking along the side of the roads, carrying their loads to market and elsewhere, Peacocks in trees and monkeys on balconies. But perhaps the most beautiful thing of all was the gentle demeanor of the people who had nothing. They were tolerant and patient, grateful for help, but also anxious to try and procure it. CBF is helping these people, to procure that aide, and I am proud to be a part of that attempt.

Activities of the UW Ophthalmology Alumni Association

  1. Mission of Alumni Association
    • To support the Department in efforts towards teaching, clinical service, and research
    • To promote fellowship among Alumni
  2. Sponsor George Kambara Lecture and Alice McPherson Lecture at spring symposium
    • (funded by George Kambara and Alice McPherson)
  3. Support resident requests and needs
    • Education fund - first year residents
    • Funds to attend ARVO if giving paper
    • Administer Dr. deVenecia's travel fund to AAO for 3rd year residents
    • Richard K. Dortzbach, MD, Microsurgery Practice Lab at VA Hospital
    • 1st two years after graduation - reduced Alumni dues
    • Parking
    • Paid for resident dinners at spring Alumni Dinner
    • Established a new residency education fund
    • Miscellaneous other needs
  4. AAO Meeting
    • Host Alumni receptions at AAO
    • Bulletin board about Department news
    • Door prize - textbooks by Department authors
  5. James Allen Memorial Library -Computers, glassed-in shelves, and periodicals.
  6. Fund Hall of History
  7. Promote contributions to Alumni Association (for Department and resident support)
  8. Alumni Support
    • Alumni website
    • Article retrieval service (located on Alumni website)
    • Alumni Association Directory
    • Possible efforts to increase alumni membership and participation - personal contact important:
      1. Residents - class representatives, letter or call
      2. Fellows - letter or call from mentor
      3. 5-year reunions in spring each year
    • Distinguished Alumnus/a Award
    • Plaque to Guillermo deVenecia for 30 year Anniversary of Free Rural Eye Clinic (FREC) and for benevolence and devotion to the residency program.