Company Profile

Company Overview

The UAB Callahan Eye Hospital & Clinics (CEHC) is internationally renowned for treatment of eye trauma, groundbreaking research in eye disease and outstanding patient care. In 1963, Dr. Alston Callahan opened the doors of what was then known as the Eye Foundation Hospital. For more than 30 years, the hospital was privately owned and grew into a nationally recognized center of excellence in the field of sight preservation and clinical innovation. In 1997, the hospital was purchased by the University of Alabama at Birmingham Health System. Since this time, CEHC has experienced significant growth in the clinical, education, and research missions. CEHC was one of the first Level 1 Ocular Trauma Centers in the country, is the only hospital in the United States with an independent, 24/7 eye emergency department, and operates 12 ambulatory clinics throughout central Alabama. With 17 dedicated operating rooms, more than 14,000 surgeries are performed at CEHC annually in specialties including, but not limited to, ophthalmology, otolaryngology, surgical oncology, neurosurgery, dermatology, plastics, oral maxillofacial, and gynecology. CEHC has recently successfully integrated with the UAB Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences (DoOVS) clinical practice resulting in significant growth in ambulatory clinical volume. Concurrently, and in partnership, the DoOVS has also undergone transformational growth into an internationally recognized vision research program. In terms of NIH support, the department has grown in rank from No. 36 in the country in 2012, to No. 5 in 2018, making the DoOVS the fastest growing academic department in the country.

Collectively, their outstanding services and accomplishments include:
• One of the busiest eye care centers in the nation, performing over 25% of all surgical cases in the UAB Health System
• Award-winning patient care, having earned prestigious Press Ganey awards in 2010, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2016, and 2018
• Named in 2017 as one of the “100 Great Places to Work in Healthcare” by Becker’s Hospital Review
• Pioneering developments in surgical instrumentation, devices, and procedures used by ophthalmologists around the world
• Home to the state’s only accredited ophthalmology training program provided by the UAB DoOVS
• The UAB DoOVS is the No. 5 ranked eye department in the United States in terms of National Institutes of Health funding