USF receives $5 million gift to expand eye care, training

A family whose ties to the University of South Florida’s medical school stretch back to its earliest years is giving the university $5 million to expand eye care and train the next generation of ophthalmologists and technicians.

USF announced Thursday that its Eye Institute has been renamed the USF Health Tyson-Martin Eye Institute in recognition of the gift from Caroline Sue “Suzi” Martin and her son, Dr. Farrell “Toby” Tyson. Both are USF graduates and members of a Southwest Florida family that has worked in ophthalmology for three generations.

The donation will establish an endowed chair in ophthalmology, support future satellite clinics and add money to a fund for the university’s ophthalmology program. It will also create a training program for ophthalmic technicians, allied health workers who assist doctors with patient evaluations, diagnostic tests, medical records and other clinical duties.

USF celebrated the new name during a ceremony at the Tampa institute this week.

“Gifts like this can change lives for generations to come,” USF President Moez Limayem says in a release. “The Tyson-Martin family’s generosity will expand access to exceptional eye care, prepare the next generation of ophthalmologists and technicians, and accelerate our ambition to build one of the nation’s leading vision health programs.”

The Dr. Suzi Martin Endowed Ophthalmic Technician Training Program is intended to help address a limited supply of qualified technicians in Florida and the Tampa Bay region. Those workers are often among the first members of a clinical team to examine a patient, gathering medical histories and conducting tests before an ophthalmologist steps into the room.

“Ophthalmology is a family passion,” Martin says in the release. “Your ophthalmology practice is only as good as your least competent allied health staff.”

Martin earned a doctorate from USF and later became a certified ophthalmic assistant and certified ophthalmic surgical assistant. However, her involvement with the university extends far beyond medicine.

She participated in the groundbreaking for USF’s former Fort Myers regional campus, served on its advisory council and led a campaign that raised more than $1 million for an endowed nursing chair. She also was the founding president of Town & Gown, a nonprofit support organization for the campus, and helped raise money to bring USF public radio programming to Southwest Florida.

The family’s connection to USF Health began with Martin’s late husband, Dr. Benjamin Martin.

In 1971, as USF’s medical school was getting started, Benjamin Martin became one of the ophthalmology department’s first assistant clinical professors. At the time, he was a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Air Force and served as chief of ophthalmology and surgical services at MacDill Air Force Base.

He took part in weekly grand rounds at USF until moving to the Fort Myers area in 1980. He later founded the Cape Coral Eye Center, which is now known as Tyson Eye.

His son eventually followed him into the profession. Tyson received his medical degree from USF in 1997 and has credited the university’s faculty and training with shaping his career.

“This gift allows me to pass on my knowledge,” Tyson says in the release. “If I perform cataract surgery, I help one person. If I can train multiple young doctors and surgeons on the latest and greatest technique, that effort is exponentially multiplied.”

The institute, located in the Carol and Frank Morsani Center for Advanced Health Care on USF’s Tampa campus, treats routine and complex eye conditions including glaucoma, retinal disorders, corneal disease and age-related macular degeneration. It also provides pediatric and neuro-ophthalmology care.

USF completed a major expansion of the institute in 2018, adding updated clinical equipment and a simulation suite where residents can practice procedures such as cataract removal, corneal transplants and retinal repairs before operating on patients. The ophthalmology department also runs a residency program, three specialty fellowships and clinical research programs that have operated for more than two decades. USF Health says the institute provides care while training medical students, residents and fellows.

The new Tyson-Martin Endowed Chair is expected to help USF recruit and retain a senior ophthalmology faculty member. Endowed positions are supported through invested donations, providing universities with a continuing source of money for faculty salaries, research and academic programs.

Dr. Charles Lockwood, executive vice president of USF Health and dean of the Morsani College of Medicine, says such gifts can help medical schools compete for physicians and researchers.

“The Tyson-Martin family’s gift advances our ability to attract expert physicians, expand educational opportunities and elevate the Department of Ophthalmology’s clinical and academic excellence,” Lockwood says in the release. 

USF Health and Tampa General Hospital together operate an academic health system with more than 1,000 physicians and other providers serving more than 1 million patients annually, according to the university.