2014 Grant Statistics Prove Impact of Work – Leading to Expansion of Support

Following the outstanding impact of a 2014 grant provided to St. Thomas Community Health Center to purchase new equipment for eye exams, Southern Eye Bank has again decided to continue its support and provide a 2015 grant to Dr. Donald Costello at the St. Thomas Community Health Center.

The new grant will allow the eye clinic at St. Thomas to purchase a Retinal Camera and a Vision Testing System Letter Chart. Both pieces of technology will help the multitude of patients that St. Thomas clinic caters to and address eye issues that are common in this community, and often the byproduct of diseases such as diabetes.

The retinal camera will allow the staff at St. Thomas to perform diagnostic testing of the retina without dilating the pupils. This will decrease the time it takes to perform these tests, as well as the time required to diagnose and monitor retinal diseases. The retinal camera is WiFi-ready for telemedicine and is user-friendly, allowing various staff members to perform the necessary tests.

By providing a fixation device for young children, the Vision Testing System Letter Chart will aid in cooperation during the eye exam. The system can also be used as a patient education tool, showing videos that assist in explaining the eye diagnosis to patients.

“This equipment is vital to how we can serve the community-at-large. With a community and many patients being diabetic, or pre-diabetic, without even knowing that they have the condition, we can use this equipment together to diagnose and prevent a myriad of problems related to the disease that impacts the eye,” said Donald Costello, Optometrist at St. Thomas. “Southern Eye Bank’s generosity and partnership have been vital to the growth of our clinic and how we support our patients.”

In 2014, Southern Eye Bank made a donation to St. Thomas Community Health Center; a non-profit organization serving as a full-service primary eye clinic for the community. In the past year, through the work of Dr. Costello and his staff, St. Thomas Community Health Center was able to provide 2,649 eye exams to 2,114 patients. Since he began the eye clinic at St. Thomas, the clinic has experienced steady growth and the demand for superior eye care technology has become paramount to its success.

With the 2014 grant, St. Thomas was able to purchase an Optical Coherence Tomographer (OCT) and a Corneal Topographer. Without the generous donation, St. Thomas Community Health Center would have been unable to provide the diagnostic capabilities to their patients.

“We could not be more proud of Dr. Costello and the St. Thomas Community Health Center and how Southern Eye Bank is able to partner with them to provide the funding for the equipment,” said William B. Buras Sr., Executive Director at Southern Eye Bank. “The use of the equipment is astounding in how much it is helping those who are in need of eye care but are not able to afford it. Ultimately, Southern Eye Bank’s mission is to preserve and restore sight, and if this helps achieve that goal, then we are doing our job for the community.”

The OCT was instrumental to the continuing success of the St. Thomas Community Health Center; providing the ability to detect, diagnose, and treatment guidance for retinal diseases and conditions that are most frequently found in glycemic and diabetic patients. Many of the St. Thomas patients suffer from these diseases, which are also the two most common causes of blindness in the United States.   The corneal topographer is used to map the surface of the cornea in order to determine the shape and power of the cornea. With the cornea topographer, one is able to identify curvature abnormalities and diseases.

As the partnership continues to flourish between Southern Eye Bank and St. Thomas Community Health Center, the patients are the real beneficiaries. St. Thomas’ mission is “to provide culturally competent health care of the highest quality regardless of the ability to pay.” The grants provided by Southern Eye Bank have created a snowball effect of change, making the staff at St. Thomas better equipped and more efficient, which has led to higher-quality eye care for their patients.

Dr. Costello’s Eye Clinic can be located at St. Thomas at Mahalia Jackson Location at 2405 Jackson Ave., Building B, Suite 222, New Orleans, LA, 70113 (on the corner of Jackson Ave. and Freret Street), 504-529-5558. St. Thomas will purchase the new equipment shortly after the Southern Eye Bank provides the funds.

Flag Raising Ceremony – April 10

WJMC will fly the “Donate Life” flag in honor of
all those who have given the gift of
life through organ and tissue donation.

Friday • April 10th • 10:45 AM

WJMC Front Lawn (WJMC Atrium in case of bad weather)

Download the flyer: WJMC-Organ-Donation-LOPA-2015-Flyer

National Donate Life Month (NDLM) features an entire month of local, regional and national activities to help encourage Americans to register as organ, eye and tissue donors and to celebrate those that have saved lives through the gift of donation.

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CLICK HERE

LOPA & Southern Eye Bank – Join us for a flag raising ceremony in honor of national donate life month!

Tuesday, April 7, 2015
2:00-3:00 p.m.
TGMC Main Entrance (near the flag pole)
Light refreshments will be served.

One organ donor can save up to nine lives, enhance the lives of 50 more through tissue donation, and restore sight to two individuals.

Register to become a donor at www.donatelifela.org.

Download/view 2015 information & flier.

Got a world vision? Give someone the vision to see the world. Sign up today as an organ, EYE, tissue donor. #LetLifeBloom organdonor.gov

New Orleans, LA (January 23, 2015) – New Orleans’ Southern Eye Bank will host their 7th Annual Gift of Sight Celebration at the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans on Saturday, March 21, 2015. The commemorative event will recognize those who have given and received the Gift of Sight and will include a butterfly release to honor both donors and recipients.

For tickets please download one of the following forms:

The corneal transplant is the most frequently performed human transplant procedure throughout the world. Since 1947, Southern Eye Bank has helped give the Gift of Sight to more than 40,000 people. Anyone can be an eye donor, including those with cataracts, poor eyesight, and other similar conditions. To become a donor visit: www.donatelifela.org.

To see photos from 2014’s celebration, like us on Facebook!

Media Contact:
William B. Buras, Sr., Executive Director
wbburas@southerneye.net
504-891-3937

Southern Eye Bank’s Work in Corneal Transplantation Contributes
to Total Lifetime Net Benefit of Nearly $6 Billion

Washington, DC (October 18, 2013) – Corneal transplants performed in the United States this year will result in nearly $6 billion in total net benefits over the lifetime of the recipients, according to a six-month study undertaken by the Eye Bank Association of America (EBAA). Southern Eye Bank has been an EBAA member since 1961 and will provide almost 900 corneas for transplant this year, with an estimated lifetime value of over $68 million.

The study compared the medical cost of transplant procedures to the direct and indirect lifetime costs of the alternative – living with blindness or severe vision impairment. With a corneal transplant, an individual avoids the direct expenditures that come with vision loss, such as higher routine medical costs and long-term care costs, and the indirect costs of potential years of lost productivity to both the patients and their family caregivers.

Eye disorders are the fifth costliest to the U.S. economy after heart disease, cancer, emotional disorders, and pulmonary conditions. For over 65 years, Southern Eye Bank has worked tirelessly to improve the lives of cornea transplant recipients and donor families.

Knowing that Southern Eye Bank has made such a substantial impact on the community is an honor.  However, the real honor goes to eye donors and their families who have made this difference possible,” said William Buras, Executive Director of Southern Eye Bank.

The Eye Bank Association of America commissioned this study to determine the economic impact of corneal transplants. Researchers used previous years’ transplant numbers and census data to estimate total corneal transplants for the full 2013 calendar year.
The cost-benefit analysis depicted in the table below reveals that the lifetime benefit of the procedure is overwhelmingly greater than the costs of the surgery.

Lifetime Economic Cost-Benefit of Corneal Transplantation

Source: Cost-Benefit Analysis of Corneal Transplant, September 2013, The Lewin Group

Since Southern Eye Bank’s founding in 1947, more than 40,000 men, women and children have received corneal transplants to restore vision and relieve pain from injury and disease to the eye. With a success rate greater than 95 percent, the one-hour procedure restores the patient’s sight and his or her quality of life. In fact, it’s one of the most common and least invasive transplant procedures. The EBAA study proves the value of the procedure and the economic benefit to the patient, family and society.

Corneal transplants also translate to direct federal and state government savings. This study assumed full retirement at age 65, so the net indirect cost savings is small for these patients, but the per-capita lifetime net medical benefits of $67,500 for patients age 65 or greater receiving corneal transplants in 2013 will save Medicare, Medicaid and patients a combined $2.4 billion nationally, and more than $29 Million in the states served by Southern Eye Bank.

For a full copy of the report, please contact EBAA at info@restoresight.org.

About Southern Eye Bank: Southern Eye Bank, located in New Orleans, Louisiana, is a 501(c) 3, non-profit eye bank that provides eye tissue for transplant, research and education in Louisiana, the United States and throughout the world. Founded in 1947, Southern Eye Bank is the third oldest eye bank in the United States and is a fully accredited charter member of the Eye Bank Association of America. In addition to community service and donor awareness projects, Southern Eye Bank has assisted more than 40,000 people with receiving the Gift of Sight.

About EBAA: The Eye Bank Association of America (EBAA), established in 1961, is the oldest transplant association in the nation and champions the restoration of sight through corneal transplantation. Over 80 member eye banks operate in the United States, Canada and Asia. These eye banks made possible more than 70,000 sight-restoring corneal transplants in 2012 and the opportunity to perform more transplants is significant. Aside from those suffering from infections or communicable diseases, virtually everyone is a universal donor. The function of corneal tissue is not dependent on blood type, age, strength of eyesight or the color of the eye. To learn more, visit www.restoresight.org.