A vision for the future of pediatric eye care at Mary Bridge Children’s
When pediatric ophthalmologist, Jason Cheung, MD, joined Mary Bridge Children’s in March 2020, the waitlist for eye exams was long. The limited pool of pediatric ophthalmologists, along with limited space and capacity in clinics, resulted in a critical need for access to pediatric eye care in the South Sound.
“A big part of our brain and development as a child is through vision,” Dr. Cheung says. “Without proper vision, motor development and learning can be affected.”
Along with maintaining good vision for development purposes, examining eye health can be crucial in identifying other medical disorders children may have.
“A child’s eyes are also a place where we can see what may be happening in other parts of their body — diabetes, hypertension, metabolic disorders and congenital infections, as well as genetic conditions,” Dr. Cheung explains. “Our job as pediatric ophthalmologists is not just to take care of their eyes, but also to work with our colleagues in genetics, neurology, rheumatology and oncology to manage our patients’ health together.”
To address this emergent need, Dr. Cheung teamed up with Mary Bridge Children’s Foundation and the Mary Bridge Brigade. In February 2022, with support of the foundation, Brigade and community donations, Mary Bridge Children’s Eye Center was built.
Making space for pediatric eye care in Tacoma
“I was really impressed that the foundation board and Brigade felt this was something we needed to do,” Dr. Cheung says. “As an ophthalmologist, obviously I know a lot about vision in the literal sense. But this team saw a need, had a vision, made a commitment and we got to the finish line.”
In the clinic’s first two months, Dr. Cheung (now medical director of ophthalmology at Mary Bridge Children’s) and his team saw more than 820 kids.
Along with expanding their capacity to see new patients, the clinic offers a bigger waiting area, state-of-the-art eye equipment in each of the now seven exam rooms, family-friendly activities like movies to keep kids visually engaged, and more.
“An eye exam for a child is more of an art than just science,” Dr. Cheung explains. “We need full cooperation from the patient to get accurate and useful information. Having the friendly environment and tools we have now helps lower anxiety and helps kids engage.”
Donor-supported child life specialists also visit the clinic daily to help children who may be anxious or scared about their first eye exam. Kendall Baker, certified child life specialist for Mary Bridge Children’s specialty clinics, says she helps kids with everything from getting eye drops to preparing for surgery.
Beyond pediatric eye exams
The most common surgeries offered at the eye clinic include eye muscle surgery for crossed/wandering eyes, tear duct surgeries and removing eyelid bumps or tumors near the eye socket. Dr. Cheung and his team are adding one more to the list: cataract surgery.
Cataracts are cloudy areas in the eye lens that can decrease vision. While they’re often found in older adults, they affect about six in 10,000 children — like Mary Bridge Children’s patient Kayleigh.
Kayleigh, 13, is a seventh grader who was diagnosed with cataracts at the age of 5. It’s a hereditary condition that’s impacted her father and all three of her younger siblings.
“I needed the surgery to make my vision better and to help me with school,” Kayleigh says. “If I was too far back in the room, I couldn’t see at all; it was really hard for me to do my work. I’m also a shy person, so I wouldn’t reach out for help.”
Kayleigh was the first patient at the new eye clinic to undergo this surgery.
“Thanks to donor support, we have an amazing new microscope and what we call a phacoemulsification machine,” Dr. Cheung says. “It’s a machine that breaks down the cataract into pieces. We make tiny incisions — about 2.6 millimeters inside the eye to remove the lens and implant a new one.”
After recovering from surgery, Kayleigh is in high spirits. Because of the surgery, she went from legally blind to a near perfect 20/25 vision without glasses.
“I’d like to thank everyone who made the clinic possible,” Kayleigh says. “Thanks to them, my eyesight is a lot better, it makes my life so much easier and I’m doing a lot better in school.”
As for Dr. Cheung, he has big plans to work with Mary Bridge Children’s Foundation and the Mary Bridge Brigade on expanding these services beyond Tacoma, so all kids can have the gift of good vision.
“I love seeing the smile on a kid’s face after eye surgery or after their first pair of glasses,” Dr. Cheung says. “They come back and say, ‘Oh my gosh, I can see this. I’ve never seen this before.’ Or the parents report their kids are doing so much better in school or sports. Seeing the gratitude in the parents’ eyes and seeing the excitement from the kids is something money can’t buy.”
Your gift through the Mary Bridge Children’s Foundation will continue to expand access to critical services like eye care for children in your community. Learn more at Mary Bridge Children’s Foundation.