Founder of Flying Eye Hospital Dies at 94

Paton launched the traveling program in the 1980s.

Ryan Ewing

Saturday, April 26, 2025 at 04:13 PM ET

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Edited By:

Travis Tingle

Orbis aircraft [Courtesy: Orbis International]

Key Takeaways:

David Paton, the American ophthalmologist who founded Orbis International’s Flying Eye Hospital, has died at the age of 94.
Paton pioneered the concept of a mobile teaching hospital aboard an aircraft, launching the first Flying Eye Hospital in 1982 to bring eye care training and services to developing nations.
The volunteer-run program has since expanded over four decades, utilizing multiple aircraft to provide training and treatment for blindness and visual conditions in approximately 95 countries globally.

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David Paton, the American ophthalmologist who founded Orbis International’s Flying Eye Hospital, has died at the age of 94. Paton’s death was confirmed by his son to The New York Times.

Paton, a leading specialist in ophthalmology, launched the concept of a mobile teaching hospital aboard an aircraft in the late 1970s, aiming to bring eye care training and services to several developing nations. His idea materialized in 1982 with the introduction of the first Flying Eye Hospital, a fully equipped teaching hospital housed within a DC-8.