Florida Lions center in Bonita Springs only free clinic in state for vision care among needy
John Orschell is grateful whenever he sees the staff at Florida Lions Eye Clinic in Bonita Springs.
The restaurant maintenance worker from Naples first came to the clinic eight months ago. He was struggling with pressure in his eyes and at a loss for the cause. He has no health insurance and works in a job that does not pay much.
“I was having massive headaches,” Orschell said.
At the clinic, he was diagnosed with glaucoma, the second leading cause of blindness if not treated.
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“In the beginning you are just devastated,” he said. “It was emotionally hard.”
Nowadays he’s all smiles after getting the care he needed.
He is one of thousands who have been helped since the clinic opened in 2008, which offers annual eye exams, glasses, and addresses more complex conditions to help prevent vision impairment and blindness.
The Lion’s clinic is the only free clinic in the state for the underserved and uninsured, and it will treat undocumented workers, said Olivia Pena, the clinic supervisor.
“We are the only clinic in the state to take patients regardless of legal status,” she said.
To qualify, people must be uninsured and low income based on federal poverty guidelines.
Free eye exams for children will be offered this summer, starting May 4, and continuing the first Wednesday of each month by appointment. One in four children have undetected vision problems.
Soaring population growth in Southwest Florida, the lack of insurance coverage for a huge segment in low-paying jobs, and escalating living costs means the nonprofit clinic will see need go up.
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It’s been that way ever since the clinic opened in 2008.
“We saw 300 patients that first year,” said Dr. Richard Shapiro, one of the founding physicians who donates his time seeing patients.
Now 2,000 patients are served annually, who tend to be new patients each year, and that includes 250 to 300 children.
While the bulk of patients live in Collier and Lee counties, there are patients from the state’s east coast or from elsewhere several hours away, Pena said.
That’s a sign of the unmet need elsewhere, she said.
How the clinic came to be
The clinic got started when a handful of ophthalmologists were asked by the Bonita Springs Lions Club to help get a clinic started to serve the needy in the region, said Dr. Howard Freedman, one of the physicians approached.
Members of Lions Clubs throughout Southwest Florida saw how much need there was for eye care when they would volunteer in Immokalee, the farm working community in eastern Collier, and elsewhere to match people with donated glasses and do basic vision screening, Freedman said.
"The Bonita Springs Lions Club perceived a need and rose up to address it," he said.
Building space in the Lions Club's administrative building at 10322 Pennsylvania Ave. in Bonita Springs was used, and more space became available later to expand the clinic, Freedman said.
When he attended the annual meetings of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, Freedman said he brought with him a wish list of equipment needed. He had no problem getting donated supplies and equipment.
Today the eye clinic has eight employees and a dedicated volunteer force of 115. There are three exam rooms and a “small surgery room” for basic procedures that can be done with lasers. Sixteen volunteer doctors see patients.
“We have all the equipment here you would see in a private office,” Shapiro said. “We are providing the services that patients need in a clean and friendly atmosphere. We are a diamond in the rough.”
The estimated value of services, at retail cost, would be $850,000 to $1 million a year, Shapiro said.
There are four conditions that are the most prevalent; diabetic retinopathy, cataracts, glaucoma and pterygium. The latter involves a white film that develops over a portion of the eye due to excessive sun exposure, Shapiro said.
The condition is common among farmworkers who cannot wear sunglasses while working in the fields in order to see which fruits and vegetables are ready for picking from those that are not, he said.
The clinic's annual budget is $450,000, Robin Goldstone Garcia, the clinic’s executive director, said.
Surgeries that require anesthesia are referred to private ophthalmologists who offer their services, she said. Bascom Palmer Eye Institute in Naples charges Medicare rates, she said.
The clinic’s funding comes entirely from donors and private grants, which includes the Ware Bluegrass Foundation, United Way, the Collier Community Foundation, Lighthouse of Collier, and the Naples Children and Education Foundation, sponsors of the annual Naples Winter Wine Festival.
"We've had great community support," Freedman said.
The clinic pays for Uber rides to bring patients to and from appointments when they don’t have transportation or access to buses. Eye glasses or readers are provided annually.
The patients
Orschell, who recently turned 65 and is getting on Medicare, was referred to the clinic when he could no longer tolerate his headaches.
The clinic used a laser to treat Orschell’s “good eye” to relieve the eye pressure that had been building up.
He was referred to an outside ophthalmologist for emergency surgery for glaucoma in his left eye, which the clinic covered.
“The doctor saved my eye,” Orschell said.
Another patient, Edmundo Medina, 60, was getting examined recently for the first time.
He lives and works in Naples installing showers. He also has felt pressure in his eyes over the last few months but it has not been painful.
He was pleased to learn about the clinic's existence and was getting tests to get a diagnosis.
“It is just amazing,” he said through an interpreter. “It releases the stress. It is a big help.”
(To learn more, visit www.fllec.org/ or call (239) 498-3937)
This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Bonita Springs: Florida Lions eye clinic serves uninsured, poor
