{"id":147591,"date":"2026-02-12T22:51:20","date_gmt":"2026-02-13T03:51:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=147591"},"modified":"2026-02-12T22:51:20","modified_gmt":"2026-02-13T03:51:20","slug":"innovative-program-saves-diabetics-eyesight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=147591","title":{"rendered":"Innovative Program Saves Diabetics\u2019 Eyesight"},"content":{"rendered":"

Photo caption\u00a0<\/strong>\u2013\u00a0From\u00a0left:\u00a0Rachael Graham, RN;\u00a0Jen\u00a0Shepard\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

For people living with diabetes, the biggest threat to their eyesight often arrives with no symptoms. Diabetic retinopathy, the leading cause of blindness in adults with diabetes, is both silent and\u00a0largely preventable. A simple, five\u2011minute eye scan can\u00a0identify\u00a0concerns long before you notice changes in your vision.<\/p>\n

Star\u00a0Community Health,\u00a0affiliated with St. Luke\u2019s University Health Network, is recognized as one of Pennsylvania\u2019s top performers in diabetes care. Every Star\u00a0primary care office is equipped with technology\u00a0that\u00a0captures\u00a0retinal images quickly and comfortably. The images are reviewed by a third\u2011party specialist who sends results directly to the patient\u2019s primary care provider.<\/p>\n

Last year alone, Star\u00a0Community Health helped more than 200 people protect \u2014 or even save \u2014 their eyesight through these screenings.\u00a0Beginning in mid\u2011February,\u00a0the Intelligent Retinal Imaging System (or IRIS)\u00a0will be available at Star\u2019s new\u00a0rural\u00a0health primary care offices in Carbon and Schuylkill Counties.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople who have diabetes are very aware they need to check their blood sugar and have foot exams regularly to prevent complications,\u201d said Karen Hepworth, Director of Quality Management at Star Community Health. \u201cBut\u00a0they\u2019re\u00a0not always aware that diabetes can affect their eyesight as well. Diabetic retinopathy\u00a0has no symptoms until\u00a0you\u2019ve\u00a0already lost some of your vision. If caught early, retinopathy is treatable.\u00a0That\u2019s\u00a0what makes this test so important.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0quick, painless, and can save someone\u2019s vision.\u201d<\/p>\n

Star\u00a0Community Health has delivered this sight\u2011saving service across eastern Pennsylvania with outstanding success for six years. In 2025, Star\u00a0centers performed IRIS eye screenings on 912 people.\u00a0Nearly 300\u00a0of those patients were found to have some form of eye disease, including\u00a0178 with\u00a0diabetic retinopathy. As a result of the IRIS scans, 207 people were referred for treatment to prevent further vision loss.<\/p>\n

This means\u00a0nearly 23 percent\u00a0of screened patients were considered \u201csaves\u201d\u00a0\u2014\u00a0a significant rise from 16 percent in 2022. Star\u00a0Community Health\u2019s experience shows a clear trend:\u00a0The more patients\u00a0they screen,\u00a0the more people they can help\u00a0to\u00a0preserve their sight.<\/p>\n

The test itself is simple and pain\u2011free. During a regular office visit, patients sit at a tabletop machine in a darkened room to allow their pupils to dilate naturally, then focus on a small dot as the device takes a series of images. The entire process takes just a few minutes.<\/p>\n

\u201cWithout this screening, some people\u00a0would have eventually lost\u00a0their sight. The damage is not reversible,\u201d Hepworth noted.<\/p>\n

IRIS screenings are offered at several Star\u00a0Community Health locations, including Sigal Family Medicine in Allentown; Family Medicine in Bethlehem; Southside Internal Medicine in Bethlehem; and Coventry Family Medicine in Phillipsburg, New Jersey. Beginning\u00a0in\u00a0mid\u2011February, screenings will also be available at Star\u00a0Community\u00a0rural\u00a0health practices in Hometown, Ringtown, and Lansford.<\/p>\n

Star\u00a0Community\u00a0Health,\u00a0a Federally Qualified Health Center Look\u2011Alike\u00a0(FQHC),\u00a0provides\u00a0high\u2011quality primary care,\u00a0including Pediatrics, Women\u2019s Health, and Dental services,\u00a0to more than 50,000 patients across the region. These\u00a0FQHCs\u00a0deliver accessible, cost\u2011effective preventative care for insured, underinsured, and uninsured patients alike.<\/p>\n

For people living with diabetes, getting this eye exam is one of the most effective steps they can take to protect their long\u2011term vision. Star\u00a0Community Health uses advanced technology to support comprehensive care for diabetes, hypertension, and other chronic conditions. In fact, Star\u00a0practices consistently outperform most\u00a0Community Health\u00a0Centers and primary care offices in managing chronic disease.<\/p>\n

To schedule a diabetic eye screening\u00a0or to find a primary care provider for yourself or your family,\u00a0visit\u00a0Star Community Health online<\/a>\u00a0or call 484\u2011822\u20117827.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

About St. Luke\u2019s\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Founded in 1872, St. Luke\u2019s University Health Network (SLUHN) is a fully integrated, regional, non-profit network with annual net revenue of more than\u00a0$4.5 billion. With 23,000+ employees at 16 hospital campuses and 350+ outpatient sites, it is\u00a0the Lehigh\u00a0Valley\u2019s biggest employer.<\/p>\n

The Network\u2019s service area includes 11 counties in two states: Lehigh, Northampton, Berks, Bucks, Carbon, Montgomery, Monroe, Schuylkill and Luzerne counties in Pennsylvania and Warren and Hunterdon counties in New Jersey. St. Luke\u2019s Children\u2019s Hospital is based at the Bethlehem Campus.<\/p>\n

Dedicated to advancing medical education, St. Luke\u2019s is the preeminent teaching hospital in central-eastern Pennsylvania. In partnership with Temple University, the Network\u00a0established\u00a0the Lehigh\u00a0Valley\u2019s first and only four-year medical school. It also\u00a0operates\u00a0the nation\u2019s oldest continuously operated School of Nursing,\u00a0established\u00a0in 1884, and 60+ fully accredited graduate medical educational programs with 550+ residents and fellows.<\/p>\n

In 2025, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recognized St. Luke\u2019s ahead of nationally renowned Mayo Clinic and Houston Methodist as the nation\u2019s three highest performing health systems for quality, safety and patient experience \u2013 affirming St. Luke\u2019s status as a leader among the largest and best-known health care providers in the country.<\/p>\n

St. Luke\u2019s has been named a Leapfrog Group and Healthgrades Top Hospital and a Newsweek World\u2019s Best Hospital. It is the only Lehigh Valley-based health care system to earn Medicare\u2019s five-star ratings (the highest) for quality,\u00a0efficiency\u00a0and patient satisfaction. In 2025, the Network earned straight\u00a0A\u2019s\u00a0from Leapfrog across\u00a0all of\u00a0its acute care hospitals. It has earned 100 Top Hospital designations from Premier 11 years in a row, including in 2021 when its flagship University Hospital was identified as THE #1 TEACHING HOSPITAL IN THE COUNTRY. Utilizing the Epic electronic medical record (EMR) system for both inpatient and outpatient services, the Network is a multi-year recipient of the Most Wired award recognizing the breadth of SLUHN\u2019s information technology applications such as telehealth, online\u00a0scheduling\u00a0and online pricing information.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Information provided to TVL by:
\nGary R. Blockus<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Photo caption\u00a0\u2013\u00a0From\u00a0left:\u00a0Rachael Graham, RN;\u00a0Jen\u00a0Shepard\u00a0 For people living with diabetes, the biggest threat to their eyesight often arrives with no symptoms. Diabetic retinopathy, the leading cause of blindness in adults with … Continue reading Innovative Program Saves Diabetics\u2019 Eyesight<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":147592,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[69,482],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-147591","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-in-the-valley","category-press-release-2"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Rachael-Graham.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/147591"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=147591"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/147591\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":147593,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/147591\/revisions\/147593"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/147592"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=147591"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=147591"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=147591"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}