New eye care centre is the first of its kind in B.C. and open to everyone living on the West Coast

This is an excerpt from an article from Noro O’Malley that orignally appeared in the Tofino-Ucluelet Westerly News.

Access to eye care on the Coast is closer to home thanks to a partnership with Ucluelet First Nation and the BC Doctors of Optometry (BCDO).

Located at the Huupatu Health Centre at 100 Hitacu Road, this new telehealth enabled eye clinic will serve the roughly 4,500 residents of Ucluelet First Nation, Toquaht, Ucluelet, Tla-o-qui-aht, Tofino, Ahousaht and Hesquiaht.

“It’s the first one of its kind in all of B.C.,” said past president of BCDO Dr. John Lam during staff training on Sunday.

To bring the eye centre to life, Ucluelet First Nation provided the office space and BCDO invested $160,000 of capital funding. The rural eye clinic program is part of a larger vision thought-out by the provincial Ministry of Health to create more accessible health care solutions for First Nations communities.

The Huupatu eye centre includes state-of-the-art equipment, which can take images of the tissues of the eye, plus a laser scanning instrument to more accurately diagnose and monitor macular degeneration, glaucoma, and diabetic retinopathy. The suite of equipment boasts the top-of-the-line ocular telehealth platform, Topcon RDx.

“It’s the best of the best,” said Dr. Lam, adding that having high speed Internet was key.

Currently, Nanaimo-based Dr. Gary Jassal travels to Hitacu once a month for in-person eye exams. This new hybrid telehealth model of optometry will allow patients to arrange emergency or routine eye exams when required or when it’s convenient.