Excellus awards St. Joseph’s Health Foundation grant for retinopathy vision-screening equipment

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — St. Joseph’s Health’s primary-care centers plan to use diabetic retinopathy vision-screening equipment.

Excellus BlueCross BlueShield (Excellus BCBS) has awarded St. Joseph’s Health Foundation a three-year, $55,000 grant to purchase the screening equipment, St. Joseph’s said in a news release.

Excellus BCBS’s member and community health-improvement program provided the funding for the diabetic eye-screening.

Welch Allyn manufactures the screening equipment.

“All individuals with diabetes are at risk of eye disease,” Dr. Luis Castro, medical director at St. Joseph’s Primary Care Center-West, said in the release. “And the longer a person has diabetes, the more likely that person will develop diabetic eye disease. By making eye screenings more accessible in primary care, more patients will be screened for eye disease and referred to a vision specialist if needed.”

Diabetic eye diseases include diabetic retinopathy, cataracts, and glaucoma. Diabetic retinopathy is a leading cause of blindness in individuals with diabetes, but “many times,” the early stages of diabetic retinopathy generate “no symptoms,” St. Joseph’s said.

“This new screening is important because individuals with diabetes can slow or prevent the development of eye disease by having regular eye exams at least once per year, in addition to keeping their blood sugar, blood pressure and blood cholesterol under control,” said Castro. “Early detection and treatment can prevent vision loss.”

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com