Training Tomorrow’s Ophthalmologists
When Dr. Felix Sabates arrived in Kansas City, there were 39 ophthalmologists in town. Today there are more than 200. Many of which have been trained and educated by Sabates Eye Centers physicians who are also professors at UMKC’s School of Medicine’s Department of Ophthalmology. It’s a unique arrangement, one that medical schools around the country are trying to emulate.
University of Missouri at Kansas City (UMKC)
More than 40 years ago, Dr. Felix Sabates saw a need for ophthalmology services at Kansas City’s old General Hospital (now Truman Medical Centers). He started raising money, and within just three years established what would eventually become the Ophthalmology Department at the UMKC School of Medicine. To date, nearly 150 residents and fellows have completed the three-year program at UMKC, helping patients in all walks of life under the guidance of board-certified Sabates Eye Centers subspecialists.
To learn more about the school, please visit – http://med.umkc.edu/ophthalmology/
Eye Foundation of Kansas City
Many university eye departments have set up private satellite clinics, yet Sabates Eye Centers is the only one that flows resources in the other direction. Established in 1986, the Eye Foundation supports the Ophthalmology Department at UMKC with funding and faculty for nine resident positions, along with fellowships in both pediatric and retina subspecialties. Residents rotate through five area teaching hospitals.
Vision Research Center and Foundation
This may surprise you, but Kansas City is at the leading edge of vision research. Established by Dr. Nelson Sabates, some of the brightest minds in the field are attracted here by the opportunity to test new ideas and equipment and develop cures at the Vision Research Center and Foundation. We also take knowledge and treatments already available and make them better.
