Progress Continues on Regional Expansion of Vision Care for Underserved Communities
Type: News
Left to right: Lawton Snyder, Dr. Jose Sahel, Zeila Hobson, Dr. Jake Waxman, Karen Feinstein and Nancy Zionts.
The Jewish Healthcare Foundation (JHF) recently received a progress update on a major initiative it helped fund to expand access to vision and hearing care for older adults and other underserved populations across the Pittsburgh region.
During a project briefing with Dr. José-Alain Sahel, Dr. Barry Waxman, and JHF-funded Research Project Manager Zeila Hobson, Foundation leaders learned how the work, originally funded in April 2024, has grown in scale and impact over the past year.
A hallmark of this effort is the EyeVan, a mobile clinic equipped with diagnostic tools, screening capabilities, and specialty expertise designed to bring care directly to communities where traditional in-office appointments can be difficult to access. When JHF leadership toured the EyeVan in 2024, they saw firsthand how this innovative model is transforming community-based access to vision services.
Hobson’s update detailed significant expansion within UPMC’s Community Ophthalmology & Remote Access Programs (CORAP). CORAP has built a sustainable, equity-driven mobile vision care system that now spans more than 20 partner organizations and 45 community locations. In just 13 months, nearly 2,000 individuals have received services. CORAP continues to prioritize older adults while also expanding into pediatric vision care, responding to widespread stakeholder concerns about gaps in children’s services. The program has addressed a long waitlist of uninsured children by holding regular clinics at Casa San José and partnering with UPMC Family Care Connections to provide screenings and free eyeglasses in settings where families already receive support.
The update also underscored the essential role of mobile clinics in connecting patients to ongoing care. Approximately 28% of EyeVan patients required referral to a specialist for imaging or surgical follow-up, while 14% were referred for annual visits at partner sites, evidence of a strong and effective pipeline into the Vision Institute for high-risk and underserved individuals of all ages.
JHF commends the Eye and Ear Foundation, CORAP, and the clinical teams for their innovative and impactful work, which continues to expand access to essential vision and hearing services throughout the region.
