Improved access to eye treatment coming to Nelson
By Nelson Daily Staff
People will no longer have to travel to Cranbrook or Kelowna for eye care.
A new eye clinic has been set up at Kootenay Lake Hospital for people who have the wet form of Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD).
The services will be provided by visiting retinal specialists through the Provincial AMD Treatment Program. Wet AMD is a chronic disease of the retina of the eye, and affects the central vision of the sufferer.
It can cause blindness and tends to affect people age 50 and over. Retinal specialists (ophthalmologists with additional training in diseases of the retina) treat wet AMD patients with either ranibizumab (Lucentis), bevacizumab (Avastin) or verteporfin (Visudyne)/Photo Dynamic Therapy (PDT).
In addition to wet AMD treatments, visiting retinal specialists will perform cataract surgeries in Nelson, supporting the overall access to cataract surgeries in the region.
Cataract surgeries are also performed at Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital in Trail. Visiting retinal specialists will start seeing patients at Kootenay Lake Hospital at the end of July.
Patients who currently receive their wet AMD treatment outside Kootenay Boundary should discuss getting a referral to the new Nelson-based program with their optometrist or family doctor.
Before the Province announced a Provincial wet AMD program in June of 2009, patients had to cover the cost of the drug out-of-pocket.
Only Visudyne was previously covered by the Province.
- More information on the provincial program is on the Ministry of Health website at: http://www.gov.bc.ca/fortherecord/wetamd/wt_healthcare.html?src=/healthcare/wt_healthcare.html.
