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ASCRS Foundation kicks off mission to end cataract blindness in US
The foundation anticipates performing 1,000 charitable cases by 2015.
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A program has started to provide charitable surgeries to try to end cataract blindness in the United States.
Operation Sight-Charleston (OSC) is part of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery Foundation’s Operation Sight network. Kerry D. Solomon, one of OSC’s 13 volunteer surgeons, performed two charitable procedures at Physicians Eye Surgery Center in Charleston, S.C., in July, according to a news release.
OSC, Moran Eye Center in Utah, University Hospitals in Ohio and Operation Access in California are founding members of the Operation Sight network. OSC was created in 2011 and has since provided more than 90 charitable surgeries, according to the release.
“A number of places across the country and even individual practices have a long-standing effort that they’ve put forth to take care of indigent patients in their communities and offered free surgical care,” Stephen S. Lane, MD, ASCRS Foundation Domestic Programs Chairman, told Ocular Surgery News. “What makes Operation Sight through ASCRS different is that we are going to bring all of these groups under a single umbrella.”
Lane said that in the past the humanitarian care mission of the ASCRS Foundation has been to provide surgical eye care to underdeveloped countries; however, there are numerous patients in need of surgical eye care in the United States.
Stephen S. Lane
The foundation can eliminate much of the administrative burden associated with charitable surgery through donations that will fund ASCRS administrative staff who will perform the necessary background and eligibility checks of patients seeking care, he said.
The foundation plans to eventually expand the Operation Sight network to involve individual physicians who want to provide charitable surgery services in their own communities, according to the release.
Plans and goals
Lane said that the goal is to perform 100 cataract cases within 10 participating centers in 2014 and to add 50 more centers in 2015, reaching 1,000 cases next year.
“We have quite ambitious goals, but I think that they are achievable,” Lane said. “Our overall goal is to wipe out cataract blindness in the United States, which I strongly believe is something that we can achieve.”
The program wants to dedicate a specific time period in which all of the participating centers can operate collaboratively in order to gain national recognition and presence for this program, Lane said.
“I think that this is a great opportunity for ophthalmology and ASCRS to put our best foot forward,” he said. “Performing charitable eye surgery gives ophthalmology an opportunity to showcase what we do on a day-to-day basis to the American public.”
To grow and sustain the effort, Lane said that a fundraising effort is underway.
ASCRS Foundation Corporate Relations Chair Jim Mazzo will lead a fundraising effort for industry and arrange for industry to participate in this program, as well as in all ASCRS foundation activities, Lane said.
The foundation will also continue to request donations from interested individual donors.
Enthusiastic to join
There have been some surprises during the early phases of the program, including four or five independently working sites that have agreed to come under the umbrella of OSC, Lane said.
“These were all independent groups doing their own thing. We approached them, and they were all very enthusiastic about joining,” he said.
“The impact of these groups joining OSC is substantial. It’s a win for the ASCRS Foundation, for ASCRS member surgeons, as well as the ophthalmic industry, but most importantly for the patients who will receive care that they would otherwise be unable to get,” Lane said.
At the 2015 ASCRS annual meeting, the foundation intends to report on the number of cases performed and the number of groups that have agreed to join, Lane said. – by Christi Fox
Stephen S. Lane, MD, can be reached at Associated Eye Care, 2950 Curve Crest Blvd., Stillwater, MN 55082; 651-275-3000; email: sslane@associatedeyecare.com.
Disclosure: Lane has no relevant financial disclosures.