Londa Reid-Sanders, BGS, COA, OSC, guides a patient through testing at the Hope Clinic.
Increasing Access to Care While routine eye examinations are vital to pre-
“
Clinic in Ypsilanti, Michigan, and the Hamilton
venting vision loss from common, treatable served populations don’t receive needed care. Among the reasons: poor access to reliable transportation, lack of local services, and mistrust in the health care system.
To address these issues and
roadblocks to care, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) funded the Michigan
Michigan. The Hamilton Community Health Network is a Federally Qualified
THIS GIVES PEOPLE HOPE
THAT THEY WILL BE ABLE TO GET
THE BEST VISION CARE THEY NEED. — Londa Reid-Sanders, BGS, COA, OSC
Screening and Intervention for Glaucoma and eye Health through
Health Center that provides medical care for people with Medicaid, while the Hope Clinic provides medical care for the uninsured or underinsured. This network of care is critical, says Paula Anne NewmanCasey, M.D., M.S., Kellogg glaucoma specialist and Principal Investigator for the CDC grant. “Individuals
who have poor access to medical care,
Telemedicine (MI-SIGHT) Program to run between 2019 and 2024. This
such as those who live in many inner city
program is evaluating whether having eye
or rural areas and those who live in poverty, bear
screenings available in community clinics improves the
14
“
eye diseases, many people in under-
Community Health Network in Flint,
a disproportionate share of vision loss and blindness,”
rate of detection of severe eye diseases, including glaucoma,
she says.
in underserved populations.
pressure and diabetes, which can lead to worse eye health,
The MI-SIGHT PROGRAM enables ophthalmologists from
They often suffer from health issues such as high blood
the Kellogg Eye Center to provide care through telemedicine at
including cataracts, glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy,
two Michigan clinics serving low income populations: the Hope
among other diseases. “Many of these patients are not getting
