Health News
- Anthem Gift Will Let Kentucky Homeplace Expand Diabetes Self-management And Education Project To Counties In Western Ky.
Kentucky Homeplace has been awarded a second gift of $150,000 from the Anthem Foundation to continue its diabetes self-management education project in Appalachian Kentucky counties that have high rates of diabetes but lack providers to help address it....
- Get Those Eyes Examined, Or A 'sneak Thief' Might Steal Your Sight
January is Glaucoma Awareness Month, so the Kentucky Optometric Association is emphasizing the need for an annual dilated eye exam. Glaucoma is the second leading cause of blindness in the U.S., but awareness surrounding the disease is relatively...
- Device Lets Diabetics Get Blood-sugar Levels Using Web, Iphone
Starting next week, diabetics will be able to test their blood-sugar levels using a device that instantly sends their readings to an online database that can be accessed by the patient, doctor or caregiver. ?This system charts the results to highlight...
- Diabetic Youth Have Medical Costs Of More Than $9,000 A Year
Children who have diabetes incur medical costs of more than $9,000 a year, a number that is six times greater than for children who don't have the disease, a new study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found. Most of the expenses...
- Krieger Eye Institute Hosts Diabetic Eye Screening
by Don Abrams, M.D. The Krieger Eye Institute of Sinai Hospital sponsored a Diabetic Eye Screening at the institute's Quarry Lake location last night. The event, which was promoted on WJZ-TV, resulted in 41 people, all with diabetes, attending the...
Health News
Clinics in 9 Appalachian counties will offer high-tech eye screenings to head off common ailment that blinds diabetics
Kentucky has one of the nation's highest rates of diabetes, but half the diabetics in rural Kentucky don't have annual eye exams ? even though nearly 30 percent of diabetics over 40 have diabetic retinopathy, the leading cause of blindness among diabetic adults.
To stem that threat, units of the University of Kentucky are using a three-year federal grant to bring diabetic eye screening to diabetics in nine Kentucky Appalachian counties. Diabetic retinopathy can be treated, or avoided altogether, if the disease is detected early enough.
While studies have found that 90 percent of diabetics consult their doctor about their disease, about half the diabetics in rural Kentucky do not have annual eye exams. The grant will make technologically advanced exams available at clinics in Bath, Carter, Elliott, Estill, Jackson, Madison, Menifee, Rockcastle and Rowan counties, sending digital images of the eyes to UK's Department of Ophthalmology.
The specialists will screen the images for cataracts, glaucoma, macular degeneration, and other retinal abnormalities that can lead to vision loss and blindness. They will also enter the results into the patient's electronic medical record, for reference by other health-care providers. Currently, only a fraction of the results of community-based eye exams are imported into such records.
The partnership between the UK ophthalmologists, the university's Kentucky TeleCare, and primary care centers where the screenings will be done, is called the Appalachian Eye Network. It will reach nine counties with a combined population of 206,000. All the counties have diabetes rates higher than the national average. The project is expected to screen 4,860 people over the three-year term of the grant.
"Our goal is to reach patients with diabetes and those with high risk factors for diabetes who do not get annual eye exams and help uncover potentially devastating eye disease so it can be treated before the patient loses their vision," said Rob Sprang, director of Kentucky TeleCare. "I believe we have the opportunity to save people?s vision and change lives."
To stem that threat, units of the University of Kentucky are using a three-year federal grant to bring diabetic eye screening to diabetics in nine Kentucky Appalachian counties. Diabetic retinopathy can be treated, or avoided altogether, if the disease is detected early enough.
While studies have found that 90 percent of diabetics consult their doctor about their disease, about half the diabetics in rural Kentucky do not have annual eye exams. The grant will make technologically advanced exams available at clinics in Bath, Carter, Elliott, Estill, Jackson, Madison, Menifee, Rockcastle and Rowan counties, sending digital images of the eyes to UK's Department of Ophthalmology.
The specialists will screen the images for cataracts, glaucoma, macular degeneration, and other retinal abnormalities that can lead to vision loss and blindness. They will also enter the results into the patient's electronic medical record, for reference by other health-care providers. Currently, only a fraction of the results of community-based eye exams are imported into such records.
The partnership between the UK ophthalmologists, the university's Kentucky TeleCare, and primary care centers where the screenings will be done, is called the Appalachian Eye Network. It will reach nine counties with a combined population of 206,000. All the counties have diabetes rates higher than the national average. The project is expected to screen 4,860 people over the three-year term of the grant.
"Our goal is to reach patients with diabetes and those with high risk factors for diabetes who do not get annual eye exams and help uncover potentially devastating eye disease so it can be treated before the patient loses their vision," said Rob Sprang, director of Kentucky TeleCare. "I believe we have the opportunity to save people?s vision and change lives."
- Anthem Gift Will Let Kentucky Homeplace Expand Diabetes Self-management And Education Project To Counties In Western Ky.
Kentucky Homeplace has been awarded a second gift of $150,000 from the Anthem Foundation to continue its diabetes self-management education project in Appalachian Kentucky counties that have high rates of diabetes but lack providers to help address it....
- Get Those Eyes Examined, Or A 'sneak Thief' Might Steal Your Sight
January is Glaucoma Awareness Month, so the Kentucky Optometric Association is emphasizing the need for an annual dilated eye exam. Glaucoma is the second leading cause of blindness in the U.S., but awareness surrounding the disease is relatively...
- Device Lets Diabetics Get Blood-sugar Levels Using Web, Iphone
Starting next week, diabetics will be able to test their blood-sugar levels using a device that instantly sends their readings to an online database that can be accessed by the patient, doctor or caregiver. ?This system charts the results to highlight...
- Diabetic Youth Have Medical Costs Of More Than $9,000 A Year
Children who have diabetes incur medical costs of more than $9,000 a year, a number that is six times greater than for children who don't have the disease, a new study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found. Most of the expenses...
- Krieger Eye Institute Hosts Diabetic Eye Screening
by Don Abrams, M.D. The Krieger Eye Institute of Sinai Hospital sponsored a Diabetic Eye Screening at the institute's Quarry Lake location last night. The event, which was promoted on WJZ-TV, resulted in 41 people, all with diabetes, attending the...