Glamorous celebration of a quarter century of Svjetlost's foundation.
The glamorous celebration of the 25th birthday of the famous Svjetlost Ophthalmology Clinic in Zagreb, last night gathered the cream of political, business and entertainment aces from Croatia and abroad, who hung out late into the night with Prof. Nikica Gabrić, his sons and successors: Dr. Krešimir and Dr. Ivan Gabrić, and other healthcare professionals from Svjetlost. Over the past 25 years, they have transformed this hospital into a globally celebrated medical institution, often visited even by the biggest international stars.
The evening began with a spectacular play of light, a laser show that has never been seen before. It was a play of emotion and light based on the business philosophy of this hospital.
In the official part of the program the documentary film "Legacy" was played. It is about history of the Clinic, which announces the legacy and future vision of the Gabrić medical family. In continuation of the program, publicist and journalist Ivica Radoš presented the book "Creation of Light".
The Minister of Health, Vili Beroš, represented the Prime Minister, Andrej Plenković and addressed the audience congratulating Professor Gabrić on his excellence in ophthalmic medicine and the results of him and his colleagues, which are cited and studied around the world. -We had a lot of fun today, but also clearly demonstrated what we do and what 'Svjetlost' can do and why we deserve the place we are today in Croatian and global ophthalmology. With all our friends, we shared a spontaneous, and above all, positive energy that was created by the synergy of our achievements and such outstanding individuals who spent this evening with us, and over the years gave us their trust, because almost all of them are our patients and friends. We felt the unity, both Croatian and global. Friends from 14 countries tonight were here with us - pointed out prof. Dr. Nikica Gabrić, founder of Svjetlost Clinic and one of the leading Croatian doctors and visionaries, who was the only one who could gather such a colorful political, business and entertainment elite in this place.
The celebration was also attended by the Vice President of the Government of the Republic of Croatia, Oleg Butković, the Minister of Education Radovan Fuchs, the Vice President of the Parliament Željko Reiner, the Chairperson of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Borjana Krišto, the President of the Croatian Democratic Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Dragan Čović, the former President of Croatia Stipe Mesić, the former prime ministers: Zlatko Mateša, Jadranka Kosor and Tihomir Orešković, former ministers: Mate Granić, Andro Vlahušić, Boris Lalovac, Mirando Mrsić representatives of all religious communities...
Great pop stars: Petar Grašo, Jole, Gibonni, Doris Dragović and Tereza Kesovija, as patients and friends of Svjetlost Clinic, organized an unforgettable concert that lasted well into the night to the general delight of as many as 600 guests.
During the celebration, representatives of the two largest global companies in the field of ophthalmology: Schwind eye-tech-solutions and Johnson&Johnson, awarded the sons of the Clinic's founder Nikica Gabrić, Dr. Ivan and Dr. Krešimir Gabrić, with prizes for the center of excellence for successful participation in scientific research, as well as for great number of installed innovative lenses.
"My wife had vision problems. I didn't know prof. Gabrić, however, I somehow got his phone number. I called him, and he told me to come the next day with my wife to Svjetlost Clinic. I met him for the first time then. I didn't have the chance to address the audience tonight, but if I had, I would have said this: "There are few such noble people, in the true sense of that word." Today there are not many people like that. Professor Gabrić left a strong impression on me as a characterful, genuine man, and we've been really good ever since. I congratulate him on everything and wish him and his sons to be capable and healthy for a long time, as they have been so far" said Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Sea, Transport and Infrastrukture, Oleg Butković.
He was followed up by the former Croatian Prime Minister and current President of Croatian Olympic Committee, Zlatko Mateša, who said: "I know Nikica before Svjetlost Clinic, because I helped him run the first eye bank for cornea transplants in this area. I have always been by his side, from the beginning to everything until today. I believe in him because he has characteristics that few people have - he appreciates teamwork, he likes to work with people, he has knowledge and persistence, and that obviously gave such fantastic results, for which I congratulate him".
At the moment, the most relevant politician from neighboring Bosnia and Herzegovina, the chairwoman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Borjana Krišto, could not resist publicly praising the doctor she trusted "I was their patient and I want to use this opportunity to congratulate Professor Gabrić and his entire team and wish them much success in their future work, primarily for the well-being of all patients and users of their services" said Borjana Krišto.
"It has been ten years since I corrected my vision at the Svjetlost Clinic, and even before that, I have a strong friendship with the entire Gabrić family, especially Nikica. I am happy to be able to share his joy of this evening. Tonight I said that, when I gave him his symbolic gift, which connected his life and the pupil of an eye in those outlines of 25 years of Svjetlost. He really gave us life. The one who knows what it's like to be in a bit of darkness, looks at it differently. A big thank you to Nikica and his sons, but also to the entire family of the Svjetlost Clinic. It is an extremely capable, organized, educated and pleasant structure of people, who not only help you to improve your eyesight, but also help you to become better people together with them" - stated the President of Croatian Democratic Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Dragan Čović.
Last night we could hear about a lot of great experiences with this hospital, associated by many celebrities from entertainment industry, who are adored by the masses in this area.
"They operated on me twice and connected me to an infusion, two bottles for 45 minutes each. I say "How will I light a cigarette, how will I withstand?". But then they brought me nicely to an office, which I immediately called "backstage", and in the "backstage" they organized coffee, an ashtray and an infusion for me. These are ideal conditions in world medicine for someone like me. (laughter) Doctor Gabrić is excellent. I am extremely aware of how difficult it is to be the "head" of a company. Sometimes it takes a lot of nerves away from me and I'm very aware of that, but what Dr. Gabrić does - he runs six clinics with fantastic experts where you have to maintain your authority - means that you can never be "in the back". It is constant learning and improvement. Well done" - says Zlatan Stipišić Gibonni.
Petar Grašo quickly followed his colleague - "A few years ago, my father had a serious problem with his eye that practically made him blind overnight, and the other one was already severely damaged by diabetes. So he woke up during the night blind, out of his mind, depressed and didn't know what was happening. I called Nikica, he responded and literally saved my father's eye overnight. My father sees today. What to say? When someone saves your sight, you are in his debt for the rest of your life" said Petar Grašo.
Throughout the night, numerous congratulators took turns in the company of the Gabrić family, all of them praising the unusual philosophy of this hospital, which makes lifelong friends out of its patients.
"One of the basic ideas why „Svjetlost“ was created, was that the medicine in the 90's in Croatia was oriented towards the doctor. In order to get to him, you had to wait for months for an examination in a big hospital, to get a few seconds of his time and to get some of his opinion, that you had no right to object to. When my father started Svjetlost in 1998, the idea of „Svjetlost“ was to be different, to be patient-oriented. This means that the patient is the center of our work and that we adapt to him. We ask: "What do you need from us? How can we help you?". It is a basic human thing - to change position. It is the patient who matters, not us. We use our knowledge and our skills to change their lives for the better. This is the basic idea of why „Svjetlost“ came into existence in the first place. It was created in order to apply it, but it was also created so that we would bring some new technology, some new service that did not exist at that time. It is the DNA of our existence, from which everything else came into being. That thought that guides us even now, 25 years later, in everything we do. The first thing I say to the patient is "Good afternoon, I'm Ivan". I am not "doctor Ivan" or "doctor Gabrić", I am Ivan for him. And for me he is Vedran, Marko, Anja or Marija... I often tell my patients that there are two diametrically opposed people, a pilot and a dentist, who need perfect vision, but in a completely different way. In order to understand who the patient is and what he needs, I ask him who is he on that scale between a pilot and a dentist. What are his hobbies? What is important to him? Is it important for him to be able to read in the dark, see in water or drive at night? Because there is no single product that is perfect for every person. So, in order to be oriented towards the patient, the first thing we have to do is find out what he needs from us. Then we use our knowledge and the technology we have to find the best solution for that patient or sometimes we tell that patient that today's medicine does not have a perfect solution for him but has compromises that will not impair his quality of vision. Honest and clear communication, the advantages and disadvantages of the technologies available today are necessary because it is very, very dangerous to say that there is one solution for everything. When we talk about the emotions that exist in my work, they are simple: the moment someone entrusts you with their eyesight, their two eyes that are completely healthy except for some diopter that they have, they hand you over 95% of the sensory inputs of everyday life to you. Something that a person uses to look at his children, wife or husband, something a person uses to look where is driving, that is what a person entrusts to you in those few minutes of work. You take responsibility to do it in the best possible way, not to harm him and to give him a better life and vision. You take responsibility for the happiness or unhappiness you can bring him", explained the philosophy of Svjetlost, doctor Ivan Gabrić.
His younger brother Krešimir, also a doctor who entered the world of light, medicine and ophthalmology from a young age with his father, said at the end:
"I hope that the next 25 years of „Svjetlost“ will be marked by cooperation and the use of our principles to help pharmaceutical and technology companies to shape medicine and ophthalmology, adapted to the patient. Designers of lasers, lenses and other medical products are usually not doctors but engineers, who solve problems in an engineering way. Man is not a machine or a piece of plastic, he is a living being with emotions and fears and everything we do must be adapted to that. I hope that through cooperation with such companies, we will be able to humanize them and put the patients' happiness before everything else. I am extremely proud that we managed to achieve that two large global companies, that operate two out of four lasers in the world, both drastically change some fundamental ways of working, so that patients have better vision the next day, faster recovery and a higher degree of safety.