MUSCMedical LinksCharleston LinksArchivesMedical EducatorSpeakers BureauSeminars and EventsResearch StudiesResearch GrantsCatalyst PDF FileCommunity HappeningsCampus News

Return to Main Menu

Fight for Sight plan to benefit medically underserved

The Storm Eye Institute (SEI) at MUSC has a long history rooted in service to the community. 

The MUSC Fight for Sight initiative is a direct extension of that tradition, formed out of concern that even mild visual impairment can result in significant disability or limitations—a burden carried disproportionately by the indigent population at great social and economic cost. 

Many of the most common causes of vision loss, though frequently unnoticed in their earliest stages, are preventable or readily treatable but continue to rob the indigent of their sight, quality of life and independence. 

These lessons emphasize the importance of access to comprehensive and regular medical eye exams and the need for a better understanding of eye problems affecting the medically underserved in the community. 

In July, medical students, resident physicians and SEI joined in an effort to provide these services, leading the charge in a Fight for Sight.

“Uncontrolled diabetes and glaucoma can be visually devastating, especially for those without sufficient access to care,” said Steven J. Hudson, M.D., J.D., chief resident of ophthalmology. 

“Charleston has been waiting for an energetic screening and treatment program like this one. Due to the tireless efforts of several Storm Eye Institute ophthalmology residents and the MUSC Medical Student Ophthalmology Interest Group, it is now a reality,” he said.

For each of the residents and medical students involved in its far-reaching mission, Fight for Sight offers an excellent way to become exposed to a very real side of health care. Staying in touch with the plight of the medically underserved and experiencing the personal satisfaction that comes in tangibly helping this grateful population helps ensure an enduring place for humanism in medicine. 

“This is a tremendous opportunity for us to serve the community, and I am excited to be able to contribute so early on in my career,” said Reid Breckenridge, co-president, Medical Student Ophthal-mology Society. “The involvement and support of the residents and attending physicians also makes this a great educational opportunity for everyone involved.” 

Ophthalmology resident Neel Desai, M.D., is the founder and chairman of Fight for Sight. The Maryland native helped establish Lion Care, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing a host of medical services to the indigent around Central Pennsylvania. Under his leadership, Lion Care  became one of the country's largest medical student- operated clinics for the homeless and medically underserved. 

Desai hopes to carry on this tradition of compassionate service with help from equally passionate and driven medical students, residents and attending physicians at MUSC.
 

Friday, Oct. 28, 2004
Catalyst Online is published weekly, updated as needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public Relations for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South Carolina. Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at 792-4107 or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to Catalyst Online and to The Catalyst in print by fax, 792-6723, or by email to petersnd@musc.edu or catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Community Press at 849-1778.