Thanks to fundraising by the Pennsylvania Lions District 14B (Allegheny County) of Lions International, the McKeesport 9th Street Clinic now has a new retinal camera.
Lion Harold Fletcher, editor of the 14B Lions monthly newsletter, is a patient of Evan Waxman, MD, PhD, Division Chief, Comprehensive Eye Service, and a fellow Lions Club member. Since the group had been brainstorming for a district project, he asked at an appointment if there was something the Vision Institute needed. According to Harold, Dr. Waxman lit up and said the camera at the McKeesport clinic had just quit working. Harold presented the idea to the Past District Governor group – comprised of the main decision makers who have held the highest position in the district – and the fundraiser was born.
District 14B has 27 clubs that were asked to raise funds, which was accomplished with multiple fundraisers like Pasta Night, Mystery Theater, candy and nut sales, pancake breakfasts, old book sales, and golf outings. The Lions raised $7,000 and received a $5,000 grant from the McKeesport Hospital Foundation. This was then matched by a generous grant of $10,180 from the Lions of PA Foundation, totaling $22,000.
The original camera at the clinic allowed imaging of over 1,000 patients. The new camera is easier to use and more reliably captures retinal images.
Having this camera is important because diabetic retinopathy remains the leading cause of blindness and visual impairment in working age Americans. Everyone with diabetes should get screened for retinopathy annually, but fewer than half of people do.
“Diabetic retinopathy screening in the primary care setting can both detect retinopathy at earlier, more treatable stages and relieve people without retinopathy from having to go to one more doctor’s appointment,” Dr. Waxman said.
Lions International – founded in 1917 — is worldwide, with over 1.4 million members, making it the world’s largest service organization. In 1925, Helen Keller challenged the group to be “Knights of the Blind in the crusade against darkness.” As a result, the organization expanded its service focus to include vision-related programs, which remain a major part of the organization’s work today. As needs have changed over the years, numerous groups are now helped by the Lions Clubs.
“Our motto is ‘WE SERVE,” Harold said. “Where there is a need, there is a Lion.”