UAMS to Offer Free Glaucoma Screenings on Jan. 29 at Hot Springs Village

By Jon Parham

The screenings will be in the facility’s meeting room. For more information, contact Anna Latta at 501-526-6000, extension 2600 or by e-mail at amlatta@uams.edu.

Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases that can damage the optic nerve and lead to blindness. Most people with glaucoma do not notice any symptoms until they begin to lose some vision. Risk factors can include age, race, family history and intraocular pressure.

Screening tests will be conducted by UAMS specialists Inci Irak Dersu, M.D., an assistant professor for the Department of Ophthalmology in the UAMS College of Medicine, and Joseph G. Chacko, M.D., director of neuro-ophthalmology in the Jones Eye Institute and an assistant professor for the Departments of Ophthalmology and Neurology in the UAMS College of Medicine.

UAMS is the state’s only comprehensive academic health center, with five colleges, a graduate school, a new 540,000-square-foot hospital, six centers of excellence and a statewide network of regional centers. UAMS has 2,775 students and 748 medical residents. Its centers of excellence include the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, the Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, the Myeloma Institute for Research and Therapy, the Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute, the Psychiatric Research Institute and the Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging. It is the state’s largest public employer with more than 10,000 employees, including nearly 1,150 physicians who provide medical care to patients at UAMS, Arkansas Children’s Hospital, the VA Medical Center and UAMS’ Area Health Education Centers throughout the state. Visit www.uams.edu or uamshealth.com.