VISION HARVEST 2009: Free Cataract Surgery Offered For Those Patients Who Are Uninsured And In Need Of Treatment

Here is a copy of a press release that went out today announcing Vision Harvest 2009.  Several of the surgeons at my surgical center and I have decided to provide free cataract surgery to patients without insurance and unable to pay for the procedure.  The date of this event will be the day before Thanksgiving, November 25, 2009.  All patients interested in this program may contact the Vision Harvest 2009 hotline at 973-200-8250 or my ofice at 973-560-1500.

So far the release has been picked up by NJNewsRoom.com.  I will keep you all up to date with regards to the program.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Nancy Lord, Administrator at River Drive Laser & Surgery Center; Jay Tendler, MD, our anesthesiologist who will be providing free anesthesia services; Gene Maresca of Alcon Labs, who will providing the surgical supplies; Steve Kramaritsch of Alcom Pharamceuticals, who will be supplying eye drops for post op care; Kerri Muli, administrator of OCLI, for organizing the program; and Alana Tendler, who will be assisting us in scheduling patients for the event.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

Contact: Keri Muli @
20/20 Communications, Inc.

P: 973-560-1500

F: 973-560-0419

Request an appointment

 

VISION HARVEST 2009

Local Area Eye Surgeons Will Be Giving Back This Thanksgiving Season

    Free Cataract Surgery Offered For Those
Patients Who Are Uninsured And In Need Of Treatment

Elmwood Park, NJ, October 20, 2009– On November 25, 2009, doctors at the River Drive
Surgery and Laser Center of Elmwood Park, New Jersey, will perform FREE
cataract surgery during Vision Harvest 2009, for those that are uninsured and
can’t afford to pay for the procedure.
In 2008, the United Status Census Bureau reported, that there is an
estimated 46.3 million Americans without health insurance. “With so much
emphasis in the news discussing the current recession and those Americans who
have been affected by unemployment and loss of health insurance, my colleagues
and I believe it is the perfect time to give back to our community. We all
agree no one should go without needed cataract surgery due to finances,” said
East Hanover ophthalmologist, Cary M. Silverman, M.D. who organized the event.
“We want to make sure that any vision impaired person in New Jersey without
insurance or financial resources learns about this remarkable program.”

 

Over the next few weeks,
participating eye physicians will be evaluating prospective cataract patients
and scheduling them for their free procedure.  Eligible patients will have all eye examinations, testing,
medications, and surgery provided to them free of charge.

 

Participating
ophthalmologists in this year’s Vision Harvest program include:

 

·       Anthony D’Amato, M.D.- Advanced
Eye Surgeons of North Jersey, Bloomfield, NJ/ Dover, NJ

·       Phillip Eichler, M.D.-
Eye Institute of Essex, Belleville, NJ

·       Michael Farbowitz, M.D.-
Short Hills Ophthalmology, Short Hills, NJ

·       Orazio Giliberti, M.D.-
Giliberti Eye and Laser Center, Totowa, NJ

·       Scott Pomerantz, M.D.-
Metropolitan Eye Care, Paramus, NJ

·       Cary M Silverman, M.D.-
OCLI, East Hanover, NJ

For more information, interested
patients should call 973-200-8250 to set up a free evaluation to determine
their candidacy.

 

Cataracts are a progressive condition
that cause the eye’s lens to become cloudy, and eventually opaque leading to a
progressive dimming of your vision. The exact cause of cataracts is unclear,
but they occur in everyone as they age. Cataracts may be the result of a
lifetime of exposure to ultraviolet rays, and other factors such as cigarette
smoking, diet, and alcohol consumption. Cataracts can also occur at any age as
a result of other causes such as eye injury, exposure to toxic substances or
radiation, certain medications or as a result of other diseases such as
diabetes.

 

About River Drive: Located in
Elmwood Park, New Jersey, River Drive Surgery and Laser Center was created as an ophthalmic
ambulatory surgery facility dedicated to providing patients with excellence in
eye care in a warm and caring environment. The
center is designed as a facility which is planned and administered to render a
safe, comfortable, effective environment for patients and personnel, and to
give assistance to the medical staff in meeting certain restorative health
needs of patients without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, or
national origin.

 

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