THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, July 15, 1995 TAG: 9507150332
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY NANCY LEWIS, CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 60 lines
In the world's poorest nations, medical help is not available for victims of disease or birth defects. But beginning next April, hope will literally drop from the sky for many third-world inhabitants.
A ``flying hospital'' based in Hampton Roads as part of Operation Blessing's Medical Strike Force will enable doctors to perform surgery in parts of the world where medical procedures taken for granted by Americans, Canadians and Western Europeans will seem like major miracles.
On Friday, Pat Robertson of the Christian Broadcasting Network signed a $14.5 million contract with Lockheed Martin of Ontario, Calif., to convert a L-1011 passenger jet into a hospital on wings, complete with three surgical units.
The plane, purchased last fall for $4.2 million, will be the first privately owned - and largest ever - winged medical facility. Though a handful of commercial planes have been converted for medical purposes, nothing like this jumbo-jet-turned-hospital has been seen in the skies before.
Between its twice-a-month missions, the jet will most likely be ``homeported'' at Williamsburg-Newport News International Airport, according to Robert Fanning, chief operating officer for Operation Blessing, the humanitarian arm of the Christian Broadcasting Network.
Refurbishing the big passenger jet, now sitting on the tarmac in Tucson, Ariz., is expected to take about 10 months.
Though Operation Blessing's Medical Strike Force has been flying into countries such as Romania and the Philippines to set up temporary clinics for more than a year, its volunteer doctors and nurses have been hampered by the lack of a surgical facility.
While the force has been able to perform minor miracles - glasses to improve vision, emergency dental work and treating infectious diseases with antibiotics, for example - its collective hands have been tied when it comes to helping those afflicted with the most disabling diseases and defects.
The impossibility of creating a sterile surgical environment is clear. In most developing countries, it is not even possible to air condition a room. When the rooms are closed to the air, they become ovens, says Fanning.
``We'll literally be able to give sight to the blind and help the lame walk,'' said Dr. Christopher L. Feucht, who supervises the airborne medical team. ``I'm truly excited about having a tool to help people. Now we can make permanent changes in their lives instead of temporary ones like medicine.''
Fanning said Robertson's vision includes ``a whole fleet'' of planes that could offer hope to third-world inhabitants to whom surgical help has never been possible.
While some of the money needed for the plane's refurbishing and outfitting has been raised, more is needed as are volunteer medical personnel and translators. ILLUSTRATION: JOHN EARLE/Staff
[Illustration of plane]
by CNB