Georgia Non-Profit, Local Doctors Provide Low-Cost Eyecare to Low-Income Individuals

WARNER ROBINS, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – JC Coffield of Warner Robins can only see the minimum during the day, and at night, he says he’s up the creek. “I see nothing at night,” he says.

He and his brother were diagnosed as children with retinuitus pigmentosa, or RP, a rare genetic defect that leads to different levels of blindness. It usually only occurs in boys. But JC has a mission and a differnent kind of vision in life.

“We have vision in that we see how to come up with ways to better serve.”

He helps low-income Georgians get quality eyecare through the Lions Lighthouse Foundation-a non-profit group that helps thousands each year pay for glasses, eye surgeries and hearing aids.

“If the patient meets a certain criteria, we screen them, and if it’s deemed that they just do not have the income in which to pay for those services, then we bring in Georgia Lions, and we will do the surgeries and accept what Georgia Lions pays for that,” says Judy Bell, administrator at Retina Associates in Macon.  There, Drs. Norman Nelson, Stephen Allee, and Arpan Bachhawatt are huge supporters of the program, offering eye surgery at a lower cost courtesty of Lions Lighthouse; but with President Obama’s new healthcare mandate, many are questioning the need for these types of organizations.

Bell says even government-run healthcare might not cover all the bases.

“I would think that the foundation would always be necessary because there will still be people that can’t meet the criteria for healthcare coverage, whether they’ll have to pay a smaller or weaker premium–you have inmates and homeless people that just don’t have resources to pay no matter what,” she says.

Coefield believes it’s his calling in life to raise money for the organization and teach people to not take their vision for granted.

“80% of all vision problems are correctable or preventable. If caught early, they can be taken care of,” he told 41NBC.

He’s had to sacrifice a lot, including having children of his own so he wouldn’t pass on his disease–but his wife and three stepsons have supported him through it all. His sight could get worse, but there’s a chance it will get better. It’s that little ray of hope that drives him to help others.

“You need to take your vision seriously,” he declares.  Medical providers are jumping at the chance to give the gift of sight.

“It’s my pleasure to receive their hugs. When they first come in they can’t see anything, and then they’re given that gift of sight–they may go to surgery and get that eye repaired, and they are thrilled to death,” Bell says.

It’s their vision, that might one day help yours.

In Bibb County alone this year, Lions Lighthouse spent just $33,247 to help 209 people pay for surgeries–Surgeries valued almost $161,000; but they still need your help. They have to raise $20,000 this month in order to receive a match donation of $20,000 from an anonymous donor.
If you’d like to find out how you can help, visit lionslighthouse.org.