The institute provides outreach through clinics across the state at or near WVU Medicine hospitals and through its Appalachian Vision Outreach Program to underserved populations by partnering with Health Right clinics in Huntington , Charleston , Beckley , Summersville , Clarksburg , and Wheeling . These clinics provide free eye exams and refer patients to providers who can improve or restore vision or eye health . It has clinics and an eye screening program with the Larry Joe Harless Community Center in Mingo County to support Southern WV , and it has global outreach activities , particularly with helping St . Lucia and developing countries in Africa .
The institute also works with local school systems to identify children who are blind or have low vision in order to provide adaptive training and equipment .
“ With our children ’ s low vision program , we bridge the gap between the academic and medical fields ,” said Rebecca Coakley , WVU Eye Institute Children ’ s Vision Rehabilitation Program director . “ Our multidisciplinary team works with our patients to help them learn how to use adaptive technologies and develop skills that can help them throughout their lives .”
Preventing blindness through research
The construction of the WVU Eye Institute also allowed for growth and change within the WVU Department of Ophthalmology and
Visual Sciences . The facility continues to attract some of the brightest minds in the field , making the institute a leader in research .
The research program , with the support from National Institutes of Health funding , is making breakthrough discoveries in basic research that increases understanding of biological processes and lays the foundation for advances in diagnosis , treatment , and prevention of blinding diseases .
According to Visvanathan Ramamurthy , PhD , WVU Eye Institute researcher and professor , a strength of the WVU Eye Institute is that much of its research focuses on preventing blindness due to retinal disease . This common focus allows for greater collaboration within the institute and across interdisciplinary WVU faculty .
“ The next step for our institute is to recruit clinician scientists who can translate our basic research into clinical implementation with our patients ,” Ramamurthy said . “ There is a great deal of research into how we can prevent blindness through technologies , such as gene therapy , and we look forward to seeing this work develop into clinical research that leads to the implementation of new and better treatments to restore vision and prevent blindness .”
For more information on the WVU Eye Institute , visit WVU- Medicine . org / Eye .
Sue Irwin , Managing Partner Medical Billing Authority , LLC
800.795.1794 ext . 101 sairwin @ medicalbillingauthority . com
MAKING HEALTH CARE HEALTHY
Medical Billing Authority ( MBA )’ s “ Excellerator ” is a five-tiered medical billing system that is as unique as it is comprehensive of your needs .
• Transparency
• Technology
• Compliance
• Credentialing
• Performance Guarantees
The MBA “ Excellerator ” formula eliminates your risk , implementing a complete performance guarantee package .
medicalbillingauthority . com
West Virginia Medical Journal • June 2021 • 43