CONTACT:

AMERICARESBeth Walsh: 203.658.9578 

**Mobile Eye Clinic to Visit Norwalk on July 16**

Stamford, CT, July 16, 2007 - Diabetic patients at the AmeriCares Free Clinics will soon be receiving specialized eye services, thanks to a new partnership between the three Fairfield County clinics and the Friends of the Congressional Glaucoma Caucus Foundation (FCGCF).

To kick off the partnership, the FCGCF's mobile eye screening unit will be seeing patients at the AmeriCares Free Clinic of Norwalk on Monday, July 16 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.  Thereafter, the mobile eye screening unit will visit one of the three AmeriCares Free Clinics each month on a rotating basis, alternating between the Norwalk, Danbury and Bridgeport locations, with eye specialists delivering eye exams to 40-50 patients per visit. 

 The AmeriCares Free Clinic of Norwalk serves 100 diabetic patients and a greater number with hypertension; all of these patients are at risk of losing their vision from either glaucoma or another eye condition, diabetic retinopathy. However, if diagnosed and treated in the early stages, the chances for preserving their sight are significantly increased.  Annual dilated eye exams are the standard of care for patients with diabetes and hypertension.  If problems are diagnosed at the screening, AmeriCares Free clinics will rely on local volunteer ophthalmologists for follow-up treatment. 

Glaucoma has been called the "silent thief of sight" because it attacks without symptoms.  The condition causes neither pain nor other visible warning signs, yet it robs people of their peripheral vision inexorably until eyesight has been completely lost.    
  
"Diabetes and its complications account for 25% of all our patient visits," says Karen Gottlieb, executive director of the AmeriCares Free Clinics.  "Our collaboration with the Friends of the Congressional Glaucoma Caucus Foundation gives us an incredible opportunity to increase the specialized care that our diabetic patients need." 

The FCGCF is dedicated to supporting the activities of the Congressional Glaucoma Caucus, a group of United States Congress members who are committed to helping all Americans fight the debilitating eye disease. 

Since 1994, the AmeriCares Free Clinics have delivered nearly $17 million worth of medical services to 15,000 uninsured patients in Fairfield County.  The AmeriCares Free Clinics accept no federal government funding.  Rather, they operate with private donations and volunteer services.  With more than 350 volunteers and partnerships like this new one with the FCGCF, AmeriCares Free Clinics provide free, quality health care to the uninsured who might otherwise never receive care or treatments.