September 2009
e-Spotlight: Erie News
Erie Family Health Center has found another way to fill a critical void in the health care safety-net by starting a new Optometry Program, in partnership with Northwestern Memorial Foundation, to provide eye care services to Chicago’s underserved in Humboldt Park. Launched on August 19, 2009, Erie’s diabetic and HIV/AIDS patients can receive dilated eye examinations, glass wear prescriptions and referrals to Northwestern for ophthalmology services, from Dr. Karina Sigulinsky. Our patients will be able to access these services at Erie for the very first time. The program will help improve the overall health of Erie patients, especially those in need of eye care.
Early detection and treatment of eye problems can save patients’ sight. Diabetes is the leading cause of new blindness among adults and people with diabetes are 25 times more likely to become blind than people without it. By detecting and treating diabetic eye disease early through annual dilated eye exams, Erie’s patients with diabetes can preserve their sight by keeping their eyes healthy. For Erie’s HIV/AIDS patients, there is a plethora of eye problems directly linked to the illness which can lead to vision loss and inflammation, detached retina and cancer. People who have HIV should be extremely careful of their eyes and should continue to get regular check-ups to prevent permanent vision loss.
Access to eye exams for Erie’s low-income patients is limited because the cost of dilated eye exams is prohibitive (up to $155 each) and the majority of eye care facilities do not offer discounts for the uninsured. Additionally, there is a lack of culturally and linguistically competent optometrists and ophthalmologists serving Erie’s patient population. A recent survey of eye care facilities located within Erie’s service area determined that only 5 facilities offer both Spanish speaking medical staff and a sliding scale fee; these resources alone cannot meet the great demand for eye care among the city’s uninsured diabetics.
Erie’s optometrist, Dr. Karina Sigulinsky, comes to Erie from Muscatine, Iowa. After earning a bachelor’s degree in Biology from Midland Lutheran College in Fremount, Nebraska, Dr. Sigulinsky enrolled in the Illinois College of Optometery. After completing a variety of optometry externships, Dr. Sigulinsky began working at Northwestern Medical Facility Foundation where she still resides today as an attending optometrist, Glaucoma Research Coordinator as well as an instructor in optics for Northwestern Ophthalmology residents.