Wills Eye Institute

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Wills Eye Institute
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Location 840 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Organization
Hospital type Specialist
Affiliated university Thomas Jefferson University
Speciality Ophthalmology
Founded 1832
Website http://www.willseye.org
Lists Hospitals in the United States

Wills Eye Institute is a non-profit eye clinic and hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was established in 1832 and is the oldest continually operating eye-care facility in the United States. It is affiliated with the medical school of Thomas Jefferson University.

Since 1990, Wills Eye Institute has consistently been ranked as one of the best ophthalmology hospitals in the United States by U.S. News and World Report.[1]

History of Wills Eye

James Wills, Jr., a Quaker merchant, was instrumental in the founding of Wills Eye through his bequest of $116,000 in 1832 to the City of Philadelphia. Wills stipulated that the funds were to be used specifically for an eye hospital, and the first Wills Eye Hospital opened in 1834 near Logan Circle at 18th & Race Streets.

Early surgeons at Wills Eye included Isaac Parrish, M.D. and Isaac Hays, MD[2], George Fox, M.D., and Squier Littell, M.D., who in 1837 wrote "A Manual of Diseases of the Eye." [3] In 1854, Littell also co-edited "A Treatise on Operative Ophthalmic Surgery" with Henry Haynes Walton.[4]

Medical achievements

Wills Eye has pioneered many techniques in the field of ophthalmology, including:

  • Artificial intraocular lens implant (1952), Warren Reese, MD and Turgut Hamdi, MD
  • Invention of the vitrectomy machine (1972), Jay Federman, MD
  • Artificial retinal implant (2009), Julia Haller, MD, Allen Ho, MD and Carl Regillo, MD [5][6]

Wills Eye Notables

Senior officials

  • Joseph Bilson, Executive Director, Wills Eye
  • Julia A. Haller, MD, 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

References

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External links

  1. "Best Ophthalmology Hospitals". U.S. News and World Report. Retrieved 15 January 2010. 
  2. Jackson, Samuel. Memoir of Issac Parrish, M.D.[1], Google Books.
  3. Bernard Becker Collection in Ophthalmology. [2]
  4. Walton, Henry Haynes and Littell, Squier, "A Treatise on Operative Ophthalmic Surgery",[3] Google Books.
  5. Gorman, Ali, Artificial retina gives hope for sight. ABCgolocal.com.
  6. Avril, Tom Implant gives new hope to the blind. philly.com, Sept. 8, 2009.
  7. Through My Eyes: The Charlie Kelman Story, January 2010, WLIW21, New York