OUTREACH
“We continue to assist members of our local community during the pandemic safely. We have precautions, protocols, and testing in place for ongoing outreach. The need for eyesight that allows people to keep their jobs, care for family members, and participate in the community is still there. We will be, too.” —Jeff Pettey, MD, MBA, outreach division co-medical director
There for Utah While the COVID-19 pandemic temporarily halted the Moran Eye Center Global Outreach team’s international travel for 2020, physicians and volunteers continued their local outreach work, providing much-needed eye care to nearly 200 patients in addition to triaging dozens more in line to receive treatment. Manuela Lechuga was one of those patients. A cloudy haze caused by a cataract was stealing her vision, preventing her from driving or cooking safely. Those difficulties presented formidable barriers to the 55-year-old. But she was thinking mainly of her daughter when she lamented her failing eyesight. Lechuga serves as the primary caregiver for the 32-year-old woman, who has cerebral palsy and requires a physically intense care level. But Lechuga couldn’t afford the out-of-pocket costs associated with cataract surgery. Without insurance, money was simply too tight. Thanks to Moran’s Operation Sight Day in October 2020, she was able to undergo donor-funded surgery to restore her vision and her ability to care for her daughter.
Manuela Lechuga, below left, following her 2020 Operation Sight Day cataract surgery, and with her daughter.
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Similar scenarios played out statewide, as volunteer physicians, staff, nurses, and technicians served patients from local free clinics to the Navajo Nation.
