Keeping an eye on diabetes complications
A routine screening can detect the onset of blindness.
Posted: 17 July 2009
MERIDEN — Diagnosed with diabetes four years ago, Wendy Claxton wants to do everything she can to ward off the considerable complications of the disease, or “everything I can do to slow the process down.”
That includes reducing the risk of losing her eyesight. So it was no surprise that Claxton was among the first to take advantage of screenings now offered at the Community Health Center, which specializes in serving the uninsured and under-insured.
“It’s good that they have this here,” said Claxton, a Meriden resident. “Now they can detect it at an early stage.
“I’m down for that. I love to see. It’s a beautiful, bright world out there.”
Through a partnership with Yale Ophthalmologists, the health center is now offering what those with diabetes but without adequate coverage often can’t get, the recommended annual eye exam.
About 3,000 will now be able to take advantage of screenings at the dozen Community Health Center locations across the state, including the 816 health center patients in Meriden who have been diagnosed with diabetes.
Blindness is one of the more serious health complications for those with diabetes.
Others include heart disease and stroke, kidney disease and nervous system damage.
The onset of blindness can come without symptoms, “that’s why it’s important to screen for it,” said Dr. J. Nwando Olayiwola, chief medical officer for the Community Health Center statewide.
The screenings aren’t new. What is, said Olayiwola, is the ability to bring them to the primary care practice, as opposed to specialist care.
“It really is a paradigm shift,” she said.
Screenings use a camera and software developed by the California HealthCare Foundation and the University of California, at Berkeley, Optometric Eye Center. The device allows for low-cost digital imaging, which can detect damage to the retina.
The digital images are sent to a server at UC Berkeley, from where they can be examined via secure access by doctors at Yale Ophthalmologists, who then consult with CHC medical staff.
The portable device will make routine trips to health centers across the state.
Meriden was the first CHC location to use the screenings, starting last week.
“The patients were really excited,” said Olayiwola.
Carol Colon, a medical assistant in the Meriden center, was the first in the agency to train on use of the screening.
“It’s just a good thing, I’m so proud to be a part of it,” she said. “It’s just a good feeling knowing that patients here are learning about retinopathy and the importance of a yearly exam.”
Submitted by Jeff Kurz on Fri, 07/17/2009 - 18:43
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