Grantee Profiles
The Whittier Institute for Diabetes
Mobile Medical Unit an Eye-Catcher in San Diego
Visitors at community health clinics across San Diego, especially in predominantly Latino neighborhoods, have gotten used to seeing a blue, 40-foot bus in the parking lot.
The bus is the Whittier Institute for Diabetes’ Mobile Medical Unit, which screens drop-in patients for diabetic eye disease by taking snapshots of their retinas. An ophthalmologist reviews the snapshots for the tell-tale splotches of the disease.
A two-year, $106,398 grant from Blue Shield of California Foundation is helping fund the medical unit, which travels to community health clinics across San Diego.
According to Dr. Athena Philis-Tsimikas, executive director of the Whittier Institute, many low-income and uninsured people don’t get retinal screenings early enough to catch the disease. “We’ve had people come in who have already lost their vision because they haven’t had the symptoms detected.”
The mobile unit – an innovation in the growing field of “telemedicine” because it makes community clinics a “one-stop shop” for a wider range of medical services onsite – is able to screen more patients vulnerable to this disease.
“Eye clinics that serve the poor and uninsured often have waiting lists of three to four months,” added Philis-Tsimikas. “Many patients we see have challenges with transportation and taking off time from work. This way, we’re bringing this service directly to the community.”
