There are all price ranges to fit everyone’s wallet…

Sights On Health is a nonprofit tax exempt organization as described in Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. 

Donate Today!

Or make checks payable to Sights on Health, Inc. and mail to:

Sights on Health, Inc.
P.O. Box 427
Setauket, N.Y. 11733

• Transport team from Quito to Riobamba, Roundtrip   $550
  Donated By:

• Oxygen tanks for patients while having cataract surgery $58
  Donated By: 

• BSS (Balanced Saline Solution) for surgery 35 bottles @ $35 each, $1,225 total or $35 for 1 bottle
  Donated By:

• Non sterile gloves @$11.00/box need 20 boxes, $220 total or $11 each
  Donated By: 

• Bouffant hats for operating room box of 1000 @$70
  Donated By: 

• Shoe covers 300 @ $35, need 2 boxes @$70
  Donated By:

• Surgical masks 300 @ $44
  Donated By: 
• Sterile surgical gowns 175@ $432
  Donated By:

• Chlorohexidine for hand scrubbing prior to surgery 3 bottles @ $95
  Donated By: Diane Farrel

• Steam Indicator strips 500/box @$38 each, $76 for 2 boxes
  Donated By: Mr. & Mrs. Schram 

• Sterile Mayo stand covers 30/case @$45 each, $180 for 4 cases or $45 each
  Donated By: Dr. Jacqueline Armani                                    

• Viscoelastic for eye surgery 45 vials @$45 each, $1,530 or $45 per vial
  Donated By: Gilda Zirinsky $360 (8 vials)

• 10cc syringes 400/box @$44
  Donated By: Dr. Jacqueline Armani 

• 3cc syringes 200/box @$22
  Donated By: Dr. Jacqueline Armani 

• Sterile Instrument pouches 100 @ $22.58
  Donated By:

• Intravenous solution for patients 40 bags for $180 or 10 bags for $45
  Donated By: Katherine La Forte

ANALGESICS, ANTIPYRETICS , ALLERGY:

• Tylenol 1000 tabs $10Donated By:

• Tylenol liquid for children to treat 6 children for $30
  Donated By:
• Motrin 1500 tabs $35, need 4500 @ $105
  Donated By: 

• Motrin liquid for children 300 tabs for $20
  Donated By: 

• Benadryl 1000 tabs $15, need 2000 @ $30
  Donated By: 

• Claritin 500 tabs $28
  Donated By:

• Prednisone 100 $10
  Donated By:

• EpiPen 10 doses @ $20
  Donated By: 

• Cough Drops 1500 @ $60
  Donated By:

GASTRO-INTESTINAL:

• Prilosec 1000 tabs  $57
  Donated By:

• Dulcolax 1000 tabs $10
  Donated By:

ANTIBIOTICS, ANTIVIRALS & ANTIFUNGALS to treat infections:

• Amoxicillin children’s dose 1000 tabs $40
  Donated By:

• Amoxicillin liquid 40 doses $70
  Donated By: 

• Amoxicillin adult dose 1000 tabs $50
  Donated By: 

• Augmentin 50 tabs $25
  Donated By:

• Augmentin children’s dose: treat 1 child $11, need 10 @ $110
  Donated By: 

• Zithromax 500 tabs $150
  Donated By:

• Zithromax for children: treat 10 children $30, need for 40 children @ $120
  Donated By:

• Keflex 100 tabs $10
  Donated By:

• Keflex for children 1 dose $20, four children $80
  Donated By:

• Cipro 500 tabs $50
  Donated By: 

• Tetracycline 1000 tabs $50
  Donated By: 

• Fluconanzole 100 tabs $20
  Donated By:

• Levaquin 100 tabs $20, need 200 @ $40
  Donated By:

• Bactrim 500 tabs $30
  Donated By:

• Bactrim liquid 12 bottles $25
  Donated By:

• Flagyl 1000 tabs $40
  Donated By: 

• Nystatin liquid  5 doses $10
  Donated By: 

• Zovirax 500 tabs $35
  Donated By:

• Diflucan 100 doses $20
  Donated By:

ANTIPARASITICS:

• Albendazol 500 tabs $40
  Donated By:

• Ivermectin 100 tabs $15
  Donated By:

• Mebendazol 1000 tabs $25
  Donated By:

• Permethrin 1 treatment for 1 person $10, need 20 @ $200
  Donated By: 

• ItchB Gone 1 treatment $35, need 2 @ $70
  Donated By:

MEDICATIONS TO TREAT HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE:

• Lasix 1000 tabs $15
  Donated By:

• Zestril 1000 tabs $15
  Donated By:

• Lopressor 1000 tabs $25
  Donated By:

• Terazosin 100 tabs $20
  Donated By:

TOPICAL CREAMS:

• Hydrocortisone 20 tubes $30
  Donated By:

• Vitamin A & D 144 tubes $10, need 288 @ $20
  Donated By:

• White Petrolatum 144 tubes $10
  Donated By:

• Antibiotic 12 tubes $23
  Donated By:

• Antifungal 6 tubes $15
  Donated By:

• Antifungal 10 tubes $20
  Donated By:

CARDIOVASCULAR:

• Aspirin 1000 tabs $10, need 10,000 @ $100
  Donated By:

• Metoprolol 10000 tabs $20
  Donated By:

• Terazocin 100 tablets $20
  Donated By:

VITAMINS/MINERALS:

• Folic Acid 1000 tabs @ $25
  Donated By:

• Infant Multivitamin for 30 children $130
  Donated By:

• Children’s multivitamin 5000 doses @ $80
  Donated By:

• Pre- Natal Vitamins 2500 doses @ $100
  Donated By:

• Iron supplement 2000 doses @ $20
  Donated By:

• Vitamin A 1000 doses @ $70
  Donated By:

DENTAL HYGIENE:

• Toothpaste  100 tubes @ $25, need 500 tubes @ $125
  Donated By:

We also had a patient travel with another local non-profit from the Amazon forest. Originally, there were three patients, all who were practically blind. As they were preparing to travel to FIBUSPAM for the cataract surgery, they were persuaded by their village shaman that he could restore their vision with herbs and rituals. Luckily, one of them decided to come for the surgery instead. After surgery, the small group was hosted overnight by Olga, one of the managers at the hospital. We would soon find out the next day that his sight was restored.

After some much needed coffee, we were pumped for the rest of the day… especially with the anticipation of getting to watch GAME 1 of the Knicks vs. Pacers at a local burger bar after a long day of surgeries!

The Medical/Pediatric team had a super productive day as well. Dozens of patients were already in line when they arrived at the site. After a short setup, it was GAME ON!

It was a day full of surprises! The team diagnosed a child with a fall-on-outstretched-hand (FOOSH) injury that had happened over a week ago. His joint was swollen, painful, and limited in its movement. The child was placed in a sling and brought to FIBUSPAM hospital, where they found he had a significant fracture. Despite financial difficulty, he was supported and treated and is now in full recovery.

The icing on the cake would have been if the Knicks had won! LOL

Day 2 was quite a day! 21 cataract surgeries. A 25-year-old had his first eye done. He was basically blind in both eyes. We would see the next day that the surgery was successful and plan for his other eye.

• OR Room 1 – Dr. Michael Sable, Dr. David Krebs, Nurse Lorena Chinchilla, and super OR Tech Julia Colmenares.
• OR  Room 2 – Dr. Jose Davila, Nurse Jeffery Sieker, Nurse Priscilla Salvaggjo, and Nurse Sashi Mutterja.
• Peri-Op – Dr. Joseph Ng, Dr. Juan Morales, Dr. Casey Bunge, Dr. Debra Messina, Gabrielle Chinchilla, Nurse Melissa Monaghan, and Ambar Ruiz MS.
• Registration – Andrew Maggiolo, Esther Stavrou, Frances Ng, and Gina Fernandez.
• Sterilization – THE MAN… Kenneth Roberts!

WHAT A TEAM!!!

The Medical/Pediatric team saw 74 adult patients, 14 pediatric patients, and 86 optometry patients. Huge successes! Taking care of conditions that we take for granted. Conditions that we diagnose and treat in days afflict our neighbors and patients in Ecuador for weeks and months. The team traveled for over an hour and arrived at Llinllin village, where they unpacked boxes and suitcases of medications.

• Our drug dealer and pharmacist was Jessica Czechowski.
• Translators – Sofia Carranza, Olivia Lao, and Frances Alvarado-Lao.
• Medical Team – Dr. Mahmood Yaseen, Nurse Christina Carmi, Dr. George Coritsidis, Dr. Iryna Ilyasova, Josue Merida MS, Nurse Kati Giacobbe, Nurse Maggie Triller, Dr. Manu Dwivedi, and Dr. Varvara Boryskina.
• Pediatric Team – Dr. Alberto Carranza and Nurse Luke Milano.
• 

Christina Carmi – middle row, third from the left.

A big thank you to Christina Carmi (RN, Memorial Sloan Kettering) for organizing an NYC Pilates class that raised $600 for our Ecuador mission this upcoming May. And many thanks to SLT Studio (@sltnyc), the wonderful instructor Denita, and all the incredible women who joined in. Your energy is powering our work to bring free cataract surgery and essential medications to those in need. We can’t wait to have Christina on the mission trip this year!

Our goal is to restore vision, health and hope, one community at a time. We’re honored to work alongside passionate individuals like Chrisitina who drive real, meaningful action.

Feeling inspired like our very own Christina? We’d love to hear your fundraising ideas—contact us. And if you’re ready to jump in and help make a difference, you can donate here. Let’s make this mission a success, together!

Nicholas has been such an amazing supporter of our cause! He was inspired to support SoH because of vision challenges experienced by close family members and he has become committed to the service aspect of medicine through his membership in a school club. Sights on Health thanks him for his enthusiasm to assist in providing funds for the upcoming May Mission to Riobamba, Ecuador…… way to go Nicholas!!!

Consider donating to help Nicholas reach his $4K goal! 

May 16-23, 2025
Flights: Round trip  JFK-Quito, Ecuador
We are accepting donations to our paypal to cover the coast of airfare for the team.

Volunteers needed

Medicine team: they will travel to communities for 4 to 5 days

• 3-4 MDS of various specialties
• 1-2RNs
• 1pharmacist
• 1 optometrist & 1 ophthalmic tech
• 1-2 medical residents & 1-2  medical students
• 1 administrative assistant
• 2 translators

Surgical Eye Team: the surgical patients will have already been selected, the team will operate out of Fibuspam Hospital

•  2-3 ophthalmic surgeons
•  2-3 RNSs or CSTs for OR with ophthalmic experience
•  2-3 floaters for OR
•  1 ophthalmology resident
•  1-2 anesthesiologists or critical care physicians
•  1 preop/postop RN
•  1 sterilization tech
•  1 administrative assistant
•  2 translators

There will be an opportunity to visit the Galapagos Islands, the Amazon or hiking Cotopaxi after the mission is completed. There will be a travel agent who can guide you through the process. Otherwise, you can return with the main group on May 23rd.

If you are interested in joining the Sights on Health team, please email Dr. Debra Messina for an application no later than 12/3/2024 Thank you!

Want to join us in making a difference? Any donation will help make an impact in purchasing cataract surgical and medical supplies for the upcoming mission to Ecuador on October 7-14, 2023. The surgical team will provide free sight-restoring cataract surgery to 75 patients & the medical team will travel to villages to provide care to children & adults.

Support one of our cyclists by pledging a dollar amount for each of the 40 miles they will cycle on May 7th, 2023 in the NYC 5 Boro Bike Tour. Last year our team of cyclists raised more than $37,000 to support our medical outreach. Thanks in advance for your contribution!

Click here to support our upcoming mission to Ecuador in October.

Riobamba, Ecuador
September 21-29, 2019

The countless hours of preparation during the nine months leading up to the mission enabled our Sights on Health team to perform 99 surgeries: cataract removals with implants & for the first time, glaucoma surgeries; all free of charge. Our patients included farmers from rural Andean villages, a teacher from the Amazon, people from Riobamba, laborers from the coastal region, and a Venezuelan refugee. The gift of sight empowers individuals to live happy and healthy lives. With restored vision, the patients we served will be able to ensure the productivity of their farms, care for their children and grandchildren, and lead productive lives.

Our team transported eye surgical supplies worth more than $170,000. Alcon and Surgical Eye Expeditions donated ~ $150,000 worth of the transported supplies.  The nonprofit organizations FIBUSPAM and Partners for Andean Community Health lead by Paul Martel, David Guacho and Sarah Marjane hosted our team of 16 members for the week.  Their ophthalmologist Dr. Carlos Gonzalez and his team screened patients from the surrounding rural areas in the months leading up to our mission. Having the opportunity to work with their extraordinary Ecuadorian team and our USA team was an honor. After our second year of collaboration, we have not only developed a fine working relationship but a friendship as well. One that we hope will continue to deepen through the years.

What we have accomplished is a tribute to all of our team. Each of them displayed a professional work ethic during the long hours of work and their true caring nature was evident for all to see.  Sights on Health, Inc. would like to thank the efforts of each of the participants for the donation of their time, their talents and their passion for helping others that are in need.

2019 Sights on Health Surgical Team

Debra Messina, M.D. – Team Leader
Michael Sable, M.D. – Surgical Director

Cathy Roberts – Administrator
Christina Rager, M.D. – Critical Care Specialist
David Krebs, M.D. – Ophthalmologist
Allison Angelilli, M.D. – Ophthalmologist
Joseph Kristan, M.D. – Ophthalmology resident, Montefiore Medical Center
Shashi Bala Muttreja, R.N.
Alexandra Thanasoulis, R.N.
Lorena Chinchilla, COT
Frank Garcia, COT
Julia Colmenares – Nursing Assistant
Ken Roberts – Sterilization
Pallavi Tatapudy – Fourth-Year Medical Student, Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University
Ginger Thanasoulis – Translator
Michael McDonald – Alcon Representative
Lawrence Miller
Carolyn Cohen

An anonymous donation funded the majority of the operating costs for the eye surgical mission in memory of Marc S. Sablow. The Directors & Officers of Sights on Health, Inc. thank the donor for their generosity. It enabled our team to truly make a difference in the lives of so many people. 

Debra Messina, M.D., President & Co-Founder, Michael D. Sable, M.D., Surgical Director, George N. Coritsidis, M.D., Medical Director, Catherine Roberts, Secretary, Joseph Ng, M.D., James A. Rienzo, Director of Industry Relations and Andrew J. Maggiolo, Treasurer

To experience our day to day on this mission, click here to read the detailed blogs by Pallavi Tatapudy.

Today was a day of rest and adventure following a week of clinical activities. Some of our team members enjoyed a day exploring Quito, Ecuador before our flight at night back to the United States, while about ten of us were interested in hiking the Cotopaxi volcano. We woke up early and walked to the meeting spot a few blocks away from our hotel, La Casa Sol. We met our tour guides for the day who taught us interesting and important information as we traveled. For example, the section of the Pan-American Highway that passes through Ecuador is called “La Avenida de Volcanes.” There are four ecosystems in the national park, including grasslands, super grasslands, high mountains, and glaciers. Cotopaxi means “neck of the moon.” Volcanic activity is constantly monitored and safety precautions are taken. The national park was closed to any touristic activity for over one year due to increased volcanic activity in 2015 and 2016, and was reopened in October 2017.

The tour bus then stopped at a restaurant for breakfast, where we enjoyed pancakes with papaya and granola, omelets, bread and butter, juice, tea, and coffee. We bought hats and gloves there in preparation for the cold weather closer to the top of the volcano. We entered the national park and took a memorable group picture at a scenic point.

There were two paths to climb the volcano, a shorter one with a steeper incline and a longer one with a more gradual incline. Dr. Joseph Kristan and I climbed the steeper path and met our team members near the glaciers. We then rested at the refuge center which was located at an altitude of approximately 16,000 feet. Some adventurous folk then rode mountain bikes down the side of the volcano in weather that varied from cloudy to hailing to sunny. After many hours of intense physical activity, we then filled our stomachs with delicious potato soup, chicken, cold pasta salad, seasoned broccoli and cauliflower, and juice.

Debra Messina, M.D. – Team Leader

We got back on the bus and finished our journey. We arrived at a local artisan market in Quito by 3:30 pm and stayed till 4:45 pm. We then drove to the new hotel we would be staying at for one night, called La Casa Sol. We checked in to our rooms, relaxed, and ate dinner. Two key members of our team left for the airport at night – Dr. Allison Angelilli, a skilled ophthalmologist who made it possible to perform three glaucoma surgeries during this mission, and Shashi Muttreja, a knowledgeable registered nurse with years of experience in the operating room. We are grateful for their major contributions and look forward to working together in the coming future. For now, it’s time to sleep. I have a volcano to hike tomorrow. ¡Hasta mañana!