DOH – Ilocos Assistant Regional Director Rodolfo Antonio M. Albornoz undergoes diabetic retinopathy screening during the conduct of the activity in Caba, La Union on March 9-10, 2023. Diabetic patients from various communities also went to avail of the free eye screening held at the covered court of Brgy Gana.
A total of 217 diabetic patients were referred to the Ilocos Training and Regional Medical Center (ITRMC) for surgery after they were screened during the mobile diabetic retinopathy screening being conducted by the Department of Health – Ilocos Region in various municipalities of La Union.
The patients will be treated according to their scheduled operation.
“Both glaucoma and cataract can cause loss of sight and these diseases occur more commonly in people with diabetes. And the only treatment option for both is surgery,” Assistant Regional Director (ARD) Rodolfo Antonio M. Albornoz stated in his message during the second mobile diabetic retinopathy screening held in the town of Caba, La Union.
Glaucoma causes vision loss and blindness by damaging a nerve in the back of your eye called the optic nerve while cataract is the cloudy area in the lens of the eye which blurs the vision and common as a person gets older.
Albornoz also applauded the initiative of the regional non-communicable disease unit and the ophthalmology department of the Ilocos Training and Regional Medical Center.
“Napakagandang proyekto nito and I believe this is the first of its kind initiative in the country at napakalaking tulog nito sa mga pasyente natin na may diabetes dahil mapapangalaagan ang kanilang mga mata at mabibigyan sila ng libreng gamot at operasyon.”
Newly appointed ARD Albornoz is also an advocate of the health department’s blindness prevention program and one of the proponents of the program on Vision 2020 – The Right to Sight during his tenure at the DOH central office.
Meanwhile, Regional Program Manager of Essential Non-Communicable Disease Francisco de Vera Jr. said that the mobile eye screening initiative aims to ensure the prevention of blindness among diabetes patients thereby improving their vision and quality of life.
“We are now on its second-year implementation, visiting identified municipalities with high prevalence of diabetes. Ang eye exam ang pinakamahalagang gawin ng isang pasyenteng may diabetes upang maprotektahan ang kanyang paningin. Napakaimpotante na huwag po tayong magpabaya sa pangangalaga nito,” de Vera emphasized.
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