The Order of St. John

Mission and Outreach

The first St. John of Jerusalem Ophthalmic Hospital, painted in 1927 by David Bomberg

Since its founding in 1882 tThe St John of Jerusalem Eye Hospital has treated all those who come to it, without regard to race, nationality, religion or ability to pay. The Hospital was established to meet the needs of a population where eye disease was rife and effective treatment hard to obtain.

Ideals and Impact

The Order of St. John is and has always been apolitical, but its work furthers the cause of peace in the Middle East. In a land where ethnic and religious divisions still festers and the situation changes daily, The St John of Jerusalem Eye Hospital has made real the ideal of peoples united, not divided, by their faiths. Inspired by Christian ideals, the hospital treats mostly Muslim patients with the help of many Jewish physicians. Expanding its work can only bring the peoples of the Holy Land, and of the world, into closer harmony.

For many years The Hospital battled trachoma, a disease that once regularly blinded thousands and still reappears occasionally. The Hospital has always dealt with traumatic injuries to the eyes, whether the result of industrial or domestic accidents or violence. It also treats inherited diseases, such as the congenital cataracts common in the Palestinian community, as well as all other diseases of the eye, from amblyopia to glaucoma.

Staffing

The Hospital’s staff includes both Palestinian and expatriate physicians, nurses and other medical professionals. The Hospital sponsors residency programs for both physicians and nurses and the Sir Stephen Miller Nursing School, which trains already qualified nurses in advanced ophthalmic practice.

For a fuller view of the Jerusalem Hospital, the Anabta Clinic, the Hebron Hospital, the Gaza Clinic, and the Hospital’s Mobile Outreach clinics, teaching and training programs and research activities, visit the Hospital’s website. The website’s photo library, in the Publications section, brings vividly to life the Hospital’s human dimension as does the Order of St John publication Jerusalem Scene