The Misericordia Provincial Eye Care Centre of Excellence has opened two new clinics for diagnosing eye diseases, and performing eye surgery.
CEO of the centre, Caroline DeKeyster, said one of the clinics is for eye diseases related to brain and nerve disorders, known as “neuro-ophthalmology” and the other is for kids, called “pediatric ophthalmology.”
Manitoba’s minister of health, seniors and long-term care, Uzoma Asagwara, said this is a win for patient care in Manitoba.
“It is incredible that, here in our own province, we can have a centre of excellence like this. It inspires generations of learners and practitioners to not only stay in our province, but come to our province. It inspires youth to grow up and see the possibilities of what we can achieve if we work together.”
Asagwara added that the clinics will offer “sustainability, state of the art tools, supportive training and recruitment specialists,” as well as “reduce wait times for many procedures.”
Chair of the University of Manitoba’s department of ophthalmology, Dr. John Van Der Zweep, said more than 40-thousand patients come to the Misericordia Health Centre for eye exams every year. With the new clinics, “we’re likely to see that number increase by almost 7,000,” he said.
The ophthalmologist added that the centre’s surgeons perform about 13,000 procedures “and, by the addition of pediatric ophthalmology, we are now providing pediatric surgery (at the centre) for the first time.”
He said kids deserve this cutting-edge eye care, and now, they have access to it.