Ann Abdella (Executive Director, Chautauqua County Health Network), Dr. Robert Berke (Physician, Family Health Medical Services), Christine Schuyler (Chautauqua County Health Commissioner), Lynn Wigren (Quality Improvement Program Manager, Chautauqua County Health Network), Art Wingerter (President Univera Healthcare)

MAYVILLE – Univera Healthcare has committed $130,000 over the next three years to fund a community health initiative to make it easier for individuals with diabetes to get their recommended diabetic retinal eye exam.

The three year project that Univera is funding, Tele-Retinal Diabetic Eye Exam Project (DEEP), will be overseen by the Chautauqua County Health Network (CCHN).

Officials say patients with diabetic retinopathy have a 95 percent chance of keeping their vision if they receive treatment before the retina is severely damaged, which is why regular screening is so important.

Chautauqua County performs in the bottom 25th percentile in the nation with it comes to annual diabetic eye screenings. Just 40-to- 54 percent of the 12,500 adults in Chautauqua County who are living with diabetes are getting the recommended diabetic eye screenings. The goal of the project is to increase the network-wide rate of completed annual diabetic eye exams by 30 percent in three years by building capacity to provide high quality retinal eye scans in the primary care setting.

Univera has an office on West Third Street in Jamestown.