FREE Evaluation Screening
Saturday, April 12th
(By Appointment Only)
FREE Cataract Surgery
Friday, May 2nd
(at Amarillo Cataract and Eye Surgery Center)
*Free Cataract Surgery for qualified candidates only.
Do you know anyone who needs cataract surgery and cannot afford to pay? If so, call 354-8891. The doctors of Panhandle Eye Group, along with hundreds of eye surgeons across the United States, are offering free cataract surgery May 2, 2014, as part of Mission Cataract USA.
"We are acutely aware of people in our own area whose needs for eye health care are not covered by their own income or supplemental health plans such as Medicare, Medicaid, or other third party payers," says Candy Carpenter, CEO of Panhandle Eye Group. "We dedicate a special weekend in May to perform cataract surgery for our neighbors in need."
Panhandle Eye Group is participating in Mission Cataract USA, joining hundreds of eye surgeons across the United States to provide cataract surgery with lens implants and follow up care, at no charge, for those who have no means to pay.
On Saturday, April 12, 2014, free screenings, by appointment only, will be given at Panhandle Eye Group located at 7308 Fleming. The screening will determine those candidates with cataracts and financial need.
The goal of Mission Cataract USA 2000 is to eradicate blindness from cataracts in our country. We hope to have free surgeries performed in all 50 states in 2000 so that no one in our USA will go without needed cataract surgery for lack of finances.
Mission Cataract USA started in 1991. Frederick A. Richburg, M.D., Medical Director of Valley Eye Institute in Fresno, California, and local volunteers screened over 150 people and Dr. Richburg performed free cataract surgery for 21. The second year the program expanded to include six eye surgeons throughout California who offered free surgeries statewide.
In 1993, the program expanded nationwide and has grown steadily. During the past nine years, Mission Cataract USA has provided free eye screening and cataract surgery to more than 10,000 people nationwide. Participating in the program were 35 states, more than 300 ophthalmologists, 141 free standing eye surgical centers and hospitals, and more than five thousand volunteers.