John J. Abbott, R.Ph., Friends of the
Congressional Glaucoma Caucus Foundation; Thomas Quinn, O.D.;
Scott Strickler, M.D.; Zane Lazer, M.D.; Susan Quinn, O.D.;
Thomas Littler, O.D.; Jon Mesarch, O.D.; Jack Brose, D.O., dean
of Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine (OU-COM); and
Wayne Carlsen, D.O., OU-COM associate professor of geriatrics.
Susan and Thomas Quinn, Strickler, Lazer, Littler, Mesarch, and
Carlsen are physicians and optometrists who will be
participating in the Student Sight Savers Program starting this
November.
by Kevin M. Sanders
Dec. 19, 2007
On Nov. 30, the Student Sight
Savers Program (SSSP) came to Southeastern Ohio. The program,
which provides free glaucoma screenings, is open to all, but
particularly reaches out to underserved, underinsured and
uninsured patients. Ohio University College of Osteopathic
Medicine’s (OU-COM) Community Health Programs will administer
SSSP, which uses medical students under the supervision of local
optometrists and ophthalmologists to conduct the screenings.
SSSP is funded by the Friends of the Congressional Glaucoma
Caucus Foundation.
The program will serve this
community well, says Kathy Trace, R.N., director
of Community Health Programs.
“One doctor in the community
told me that he, not infrequently, gets patients who when they
come to see him are already legally blind,” says Trace.
“Glaucoma is a preventable cause
of blindness, but if untreated leads to blindness. There are too
many people who don’t regularly see eye doctors because they
can’t afford it or don’t think it’s necessary.”
Coordinating the work students
and physicians for SSSP will be Susan Quinn, O.D., who serves on
Athens city/county health boards and has practiced in Athens for
more than 24 years. Quinn says that area optometrists and
ophthalmologists have responded very positively to participating
in the program. Twenty-two of the 24 she contacted agreed to do
so, she says.
Medical students will benefit,
says Quinn, by working with optometrists and ophthalmologists
and by providing hands-on care for the community.
“Glaucoma has no early symptoms,
so people may have the disease and not know it. It’s a chronic
disease, and if it’s diagnosed, patients need to be seen
regularly. They need regular testing to make sure the disease is
well controlled. Sometimes they need surgery,” she says.
Patients who need medical help
beyond the scope of SSSP will be referred for follow up care,
says Quinn and Trace.
“There are resources that allow
us to send them to providers in the area to get the proper
care,” says Quinn.
One of those resources is
Prevent Blindness Ohio, says Trace. Prevent Blindness Ohio is a
voluntary vision health and safety organization dedicated to the
prevention of blindness.
“Prevent Blindness Ohio will
help link to providers and help pay medical bills,” she says.
Although SSSP screens primarily
for glaucoma, about 10 percent of those screened are referred
for other eye problems, says John J. Abbott, R.Ph., a consultant
and member of the board of directors of the Friends of the
Congressional Glaucoma Caucus Foundation.
Abbott recommended OU-COM for
inclusion in the program. More than 40 other medicals schools
across the nation have Student Sight Saver Programs.
“We want to throw as wide a net
as possible for our screenings,” says Abbott. “No one is denied
screenings no matter what their income level is.”
“SSSP,” says Quinn, “is a great
public health initiative.”
To learn more about SSSP,
contact Community Health Programs at (740) 593-2432.
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