The apple of their eyes

Our patient care is lifechanging, says Kate Gelinas, an ophthalmic technician at St. Joseph’s Ivey Eye Institute. “I hear this all the time from our patients, some of whom travel five hours one way for care, and who are so grateful.”

Her colleague, Dunia Kadri, who is also an ophthalmic technician, says she hears the same thing. “They call their care phenomenal,” Kadri says.

As technicians, Gelinas and Kadri provide frontline care, doing patient work ups, taking histories, discussing care and surgical plans and performing a long list of diagnostic tests.

Together they care for upwards of 1,300 patients a month ranging in age from three to 103. They’re both passionate about helping others and love their jobs.

Having access to top-notch equipment is central to their care. And thanks to your generosity, the Institute can purchase the latest medical equipment to ensure excellence in ophthalmology patient care continues.

“So much of what we do is possible because of donor support. Their generosity allows Ivey to purchase the best equipment out there and that means we can provide the best care,” adds Kadri.

Recently you funded a new iCare tonometer that Gelinas calls groundbreaking. The portable, handheld device is used to check the eye pressure of a patient – and can be used anytime, anywhere.

There’s no puff of air and patients can be sitting or standing – making it far more inclusive for all patients.

“It’s accurate, accessible, does not require eye drops, is painless, offers hygienic testing and is repeatable,” Gelinas offers enthusiastically. 

And because testing the pressure of a patient’s eyes is critical in identifying a number of eye diseases and disorders, it is a standard part of care delivery in the Institute, impacting hundreds of patients each week.

Your generosity didn’t stop there.

You also supported the purchase of an optical coherence tomography (OCT) machine. The sophisticated, noninvasive OCT machine uses reflected light to create pictures of the back of the eye. It helps to diagnose and manage common eye diseases like macular degeneration, diabetic related retinopathy and glaucoma and also identify damage inside the eye.

Kadri says the equipment is critical as it enables early detection of eye disease– often even before the patient notices changes – leading to early intervention, earlier treatment options and better outcomes.

It is also used to track and analyze the progress of treatment, providing the care team with the right information to adjust or change care plans.

Gelinas and Kadri are deeply grateful to the donors who support the Ivey Eye Institute. 

“It’s amazing,” says Gelinas.

“So much of what we do is possible because of donor support. Their generosity allows Ivey to purchase the best equipment out there and that means we can provide the best care,” adds Kadri.