Cathy Schanzer: Mother, Physician and Dedicated
Volunteer
by Leslie Goldberg, Assistant Editor
Ophthalmology
Management
October 2006
Cathy Schanzer, M.D., medical director and
chief surgeon at Southern Eye Associates in Memphis,
Tennessee, and mother to seven adopted children, felt
the calling for mission work early in her professional
career. After a few years in private practice, the
frustrations of paperwork requirements and medical
bureaucracy helped motivate Dr. Schanzer to act on
her wish to provide medical care in its purest, simplest
form.
She first traveled to Africa in 1988. With little
information at hand, she gathered supplies, got her
immunization shots, and at the last minute, her husband,
Tom, decided to join her (he thought it would be a
good idea that if she was going to face danger, he
should be along for the trip). Their work began in
Nigeria and later included efforts in Zimbabwe and
Mozambique.
Six years ago, at the encouragement of a friend, they
trekked to Sierra Leone, a country recovering from
a long and brutal civil war. While they loved Sierra
Leone, it provided an enormous challenge. Among many
obstacles, the entire infrastructure of the country
had been destroyed. Refugee camps, orphaned children,
lack of water and electricity, pothole-filled roads
and minimal housing were the norms. Most of the nation's
medical care facilities had also been destroyed.
The couple initially volunteered at the Kissy Eye
Clinic in the capital city of Freetown. Then, in 2005,
they were asked to go to Serabu, 7 bumpy-road hours
southeast of Freetown and the home village of Catholic
Archbishop Joseph Ganda. The war had virtually destroyed
the entire village and Archbishop Ganda had requested
that Cathy and Tom help "his people."
Dr. Schanzer recalls their arrival at the village.
She observed that most people live in makeshift huts
and water is carried from a local stream. She was
the first doctor there in 15 years and was soon inundated
with general medical problems. She also had to deal
with tribal chiefs, local healers, the Catholic diocese
and a slowly recovering national healthcare system.
Once committed to the mission in Serabu, Cathy and
Tom began to transform a simple block building into
a modern eye clinic and surgical facility, adding
diagnostic and surgical equipment, well-water gravity-flow
plumbing, generator electricity and an air conditioner
to climate-control the operating theatre. They hired
seven full-time local employees, including three trained
technicians from Freetown, who Dr. Schanzer says have
a wealth of medical knowledge. These people agreed
to leave their own families to go to Serabu because
they felt so strongly about the mission.
The clinic has a full-time ophthalmic nurse, optician
and operating theatre technician but does not yet
have sufficient physician/surgeon coverage.
Cathy and Tom travel there twice a year for 3 weeks
at a time, with Dr. Schanzer performing nearly non-stop
surgery each trip. Tom assists with patient care logistics
and behind-the-scenes support for all the operating
systems that keep the clinic open. Area residents
plan for their arrival and begin walking 3 to 4 days
in advance of their coming. Dr. Schanzer has taught
the clinic employees how to do A-scans and keratometry
so they can correctly perform IOL calculations and
lens selection. "I am amazed at what has been
accomplished," says Dr. Schanzer. "It is
both very humbling and very rewarding. While we began
this venture with the idea of giving, we have received
much in return. We have witnessed the true meaning
of life and living under very harsh conditions."
Cathy and Tom have also established Southern Eye Institute
as a 501(c)(3) organization to support their mission
efforts. Private funds and outside donations support
the clinic operations. They aer recruiting visiting
surgeons and will help coordinate all travel logistics.
Interested physicians can contact them through their
web site at www.southerneyememphis.com or by calling
Tom Lewis directly at (901) 569-3939.




