Mission Cataract

About The Program

The Oregon Lions Sight & Hearing Foundation (OLSHF) represents the Oregon Chapter of the Mission Cataract USA Program, which, with its partners, delivers free cataract surgeries to people of all ages who lack the means to pay for this critical care, or do not have qualifying insurance. OLSHF helps identify residents in need and then partners with ophthalmologists, like the Legacy Devers Eye Institute, to perform sight-saving surgeries.

“The Oregon Lions Sight & Hearing Foundation and Devers Eye Institute have a rich history working together to provide our community’s vulnerable populations with the invaluable gift of sight. Devers is proud to continue this important partnership and looks forward to applying our expertise to the Mission Cataract Program and its recipients.”
– James T. Rosenbaum, M.D. Chenoweth Chair and Chief of Ophthalmology of Legacy Devers Eye Institute.

Each year, OLSHF provides free cataract surgeries thanks to partnering doctors and hospitals throughout the state. Additional Mission Cataract partners include EyeHealth NW, Dr. Mathew Neale with Pacific Cataract and Laser, Dr. Martin Balish with Oregon Eye Specialists, and Dr. Douglas Merritt and Dr. Mark Maffett at Cascade Eye Care Center.

How to Access This Program

To apply for this program, please click on this link and fill out the GET HELP FORM.

Starting August 16, 2021, this form will be the only method to request assistance. Until then, you may also contact the Lions in Service line at (971) 270-0203 or e-mail the applicant’s contact information and request to lionsclubsreferrals@olshf.org. Please include your first and last name, mailing address including zip code, a phone number where you can be reached, and the type of assistance you are requesting.

Submissions are reviewed several times per week by volunteers and are forwarded to a local Lions Club based on the applicant’s zip code.

The applicant must qualify for assistance under the Lions Patient Care Guidelines specified by the Oregon Lions Sight & Hearing Foundation’s Board of Trustees.

To qualify, a client must:

• Be a resident of the State of Oregon for the last 2 consecutive years.
• Have a household income that is at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty Level.
• Be without other resources to pay for treatment; this includes private insurance coverage.

It should be noted that the Patient Care Assistance Program can only be accessed after all other possible resources have been exhausted.

History

Mission Cataract USA was started in 1991 by Frederick A. Richburg, MD, Medical Director of Valley Eye Institute in California. He decided to donate one day for free cataract surgery and launched the program with a group of local volunteers in Fresno.

Oregon Participants

In 1993, the Mission Cataract USA program expanded nationwide and Jon-Marc Weston, MD, of Weston Eye Center, Roseburg, started the program in Oregon.  As a Roseburg Lion, Dr. Weston’s goal was to have clubs in every Oregon community partner with surgeons and facilities for an annual free program. “Having participated in international surgical missions, I saw a great unmet need where people in my own community couldn’t access this vision restoring procedure because of inability to pay.  I decided to take a more proactive approach and provide surgery to an average of 20 people each year,” said Dr. Weston.In 2008, Martin Balish, MD, of Oregon Eye Specialists, was recruited to Mission Cataract by the Beaverton Lions Cub.  Dr. Balish, anesthesiologist Dr. Todd Tolan, and the entire staff donate their expertise, equipment, supplies and facility every year to assist at least eight people every year.”So many eye doctors are doing mission work in other countries… I feel more can be done at home.  I hope to bring the latest technological advances in eye surgery to those who are most in need and don’t have the means to pay for it,” stated Dr. Balish. Doctors Mark Fay and Scott Stevens, of Klamath Eye Center, also find their participation in Mission Cataract very fulfilling.