Mission Cataract at Geisinger Medical Center

DANVILLE— Geisinger Medical Center’s Department of Ophthalmology will once again participate in Mission Cataract USA.  Started in 1991 by a California ophthalmologist who decided to donate one day a year for free cataract surgery, the program assists people who have no insurance and don’t qualify for Medicare, Medicaid or other forms of governmental assistance.  The goal of Mission Cataract is to eradicate blindness due to cataracts in our country and bring as many people as possible from blindness to useful productive lives. 

Geisinger’s eye care specialists will offer free screenings beginning at 8am, Saturday, April 28, Geisinger Medical Center, Danville, PA.  Free cataract surgery will be performed on May 12, 2007 for patients meeting the requirements of Mission Cataract USA.

Last year 11 people were given the gift of sight at Geisinger Medical Center. Billie Jo Cutshall no longer squints to decipher words on a paper held just an inch from her eyes. This 57-year-old grandmother of 14 from the tiny Huntingdon County borough of Saltillo benefited from Geisinger Medical Center ophthalmologist Herbert J. Ingraham’s participation in Mission Cataract USA.  It’s changed my life,” said Cutshall, who had feared she’d have to give up driving. That would have meant she could no longer visit her children in Georgia or deliver food to the elderly for a local food pantry. “I’m really grateful. I have my independence. I can keep driving, and I can read.”

Cataracts, which cloud the eye’s natural lens, occur naturally as people age. They are the most common cause of blurred vision in people over 50.  Mission Cataract USA is open to people of all ages who have cataracts and have no insurance or other means to pay for needed surgery.  To schedule an appointment, please call 800.275-6401.

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