WVU ophthalmologists provide crucial care to patients in need through Carolina Honduras Health Foundation
More than 200 patients in Honduras recently received critical ophthalmic services delivered by a pair of West Virginia University ophthalmologists through the Carolina Honduras Health Foundation (CHHF).
John Nguyen, M.D., and Clinton Jordan, M.D., traveled to Limon, Honduras, in March 2025. Over five days, they provided ophthalmic care to 226 local patients and performed 25 ocular surgeries. Beyond clinical care, they also provided ophthalmic training to primary care physicians, medical students, and nurses in an effort to bolster the local healthcare system.
“I am extremely proud to bring ophthalmic surgical care in CHHF’s continued effort to serve the people of Honduras. We were able to evaluate and perform surgery for nearly twice as many patients as we did last year,” Dr. Nguyen said. “I look forward to continuing the collaboration with this talented team as we work together to address the needs for eyecare in this underserved community.”
The pair provided comprehensive eye exams as well as glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy evaluation and treatment. Surgeries performed included pterygium excisions and periocular and facial reconstruction surgeries. In addition to these procedures, they also provided surgical experiences for a medical student from the National Autonomous University of Honduras.
Nguyen, professor of the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences and program director for the Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Fellowship Program, first became involved with CHHF in 2024. A participant in similar outreach efforts, such as the Kids Insight Program in St. Lucia, Nguyen said he was inspired by the opportunity to help more people and expand his reach beyond the common patient population of the Eye Institute.
“As practicing physicians, we can often be so focused on the patients we serve in our region that we may not always think about the need for care in other parts of the world,” Nguyen said. “These trips serve as a great reminder to us of the need for ophthalmic care in more remote regions of the world and the impact our services can have on those different communities.”
Dr. Jordan is an ophthalmologist at WVU Medicine United Hospital Center and a 2024 graduate of the WVU Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences Residency Program. He said he was honored by the opportunity to join Nguyen on this mission trip and that he is looking forward to becoming involved in many more similar outreach efforts in the future.
“Dr. Nguyen is one of the several great physicians at the Eye Institute whom I looked up to as a mentor throughout my four years of residency training,” Jordan said. “I am humbled by the opportunity to now work alongside him as a colleague, and hope to do so again through CHHF and other similar outreach efforts in the years to come.”
Nguyen said he and Jordan are planning to return to Honduras with the CHHF in 2026, with the goal of further expanding the services provided by offering cataract surgeries.
CHHF is a nonprofit organization based in South Carolina that is dedicated to providing free medical, dental and ophthalmic care to underserved patients in Honduras. The foundation also provides local physicians and healthcare workers with free health education in areas such as disease prevention, sanitation and nutrition.
To learn more about the outreach efforts at the WVU Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, visit medicine.hsc.wvu.edu/eye/outreach.