Rochester, MN, Eye Clinic Providing Clear Vision Since 2007
Dr. James Garrity is recognized as the founder of the eye clinic at The Salvation Army Good Samaritan Health Clinic, a clinic that has provided thousands of eye exams and prescription glasses for patients without access to healthcare in Olmsted County.
Dr. Garrity already knew that prescription glasses and medical eye exams were an unmet need in Olmsted County when he had his first conversation with The Salvation Army about starting the eye clinic.
“I worked with the husband of Celeste Forbes, who was on the board of The Salvation Army,” said Dr. Garrity, “I knew The Salvation Army had an acute clinic already, so when she and I ran into each other at a function, the conversation very naturally turned to whether we could set up an eye clinic there.”
The Salvation Army had worked with volunteer physicians, nurses, and students from Mayo Clinic to establish the Good Samaritan Health Clinic back in 1995. “The clinic didn’t provide specialty services like ophthalmology,” said Dr. Garrity, “we were the first or second specialty clinic offered to patients through the Good Sam.”
Dr. Garrity’s first conversation with Forbes took place in 2006, and the establishment of the eye clinic quickly took shape after Forbes presented the idea to the rest of The Salvation Army Advisory Board. “We needed equipment before we could start providing services for patients needing an eye exam and ultimately glasses,” said Dr. Garrity, “but we operated with a $0 budget. All of the equipment, the glasses frames, even the grinding of the prescriptions for patients, was donated or done without charge to The Salvation Army.”
The autorefractor, slit lamp, the glasses frames, the prescription grinding, and the time of the eye clinic volunteers all amounted to tens of thousands of dollars in donated items and services within the first year of the eye clinic’s operation. Since 2007, this value has grown to exceed $2 Million.
The very first eye clinic held at The Salvation Army took place on Valentine’s Day in 2007. “The key to running the clinic was the volunteers: techs and physicians,” said Dr. Garrity, “As soon as there was a clinic where they could volunteer, they really showed up to help.
“Our first home was a cafeteria in The Salvation Army Corps Community Center that had a big storage closet where we could finish eye exams because we needed a space we could make really dark. It really was a small group of volunteers who initially came in and did everything.”
Once volunteers had the equipment and the right spaces, they experienced some trial and error for the best logistical way to treat patients efficiently, finding that a station system, wherein each volunteer would be responsible for one element of each appointment, worked best. “In the very beginning, patients would arrive at 5pm, and it could take some time for people to be seen,” said Dr. Garrity, “No one ever complained. They were so grateful to be examined and get glasses with their correct prescriptions.
“I remember that we had a patient who was an extremely near-sighted homeless man. He had broken his glasses, and so he put in his contact lenses and wore them 24/7 for a couple weeks . When we first met him, his eyes were as red as The Salvation Army shield and his corneas looked terrible. We got his contact lenses out, and got him new glasses which was a simple but gratifying solution.
“Another patient had end-stage retinitis pigmentosa that caused her to have what we call ‘gun-barrel visual fields,’ where vision is very limited to two little holes of vision. She developed a very specific and disabling cataract which further reduced her vision. One of the ophthalmologists who volunteers at the eye clinic, Dr. Sunil Khanna, was able to schedule and perform cataract surgery for her, where he gave her clear central vision again.
“And I remember a patient who was a small, elderly woman from Cambodia. She was led into the clinic by her granddaughter because she had white cataracts and was almost completely blind. Our chief Ophthalmology resident performed a cataract removal surgery for her, and the next time we saw her here at The Salvation Army, she walked in all on her own. We gave her vision, but we also gave her back her independence.”
The eye clinic has seen approximately 12 patients per clinic, with 11 clinics per year since 2007. “COVID really disrupted things, but we’re pleased to say we’ve regained our flow,” said Dr. Garrity.
The clinic has also grown to hosting 5-10 volunteer ophthalmology professionals per clinic. “It’s a real teaching opportunity for students and residents, in addition to the incredible range of expertise we can offer patients,” said Dr. Garrity, “We once had a patient with herpes in her eye. I was able to connect with one of my colleagues at Mayo Clinic with real expertise on the condition to ask how they would advise we treat her. The experts are just a phone call away.”
The Good Samaritan Health Clinic nearly doubled the number of new patients it treated in 2024. Many of these patients are referrals from the other specialty clinics at the Good Sam, the clinic for diabetes and hypertension, as diabetic eye problems are common.
When asked what he would say to community members looking to support the clinic, Dr. Garrity said, “If people show up to help, there will be something they can do. The Salvation Army is all about volunteers serving the needs of the community. Our ophthalmology tech volunteers even hosted a garage sale to fund raise for the clinic.”
On behalf of the thousands of patients who have been treated by the Good Samaritan Eye Clinic, The Salvation Army leadership and staff would like to express our sincerest gratitude to the volunteer physicians, surgeons, and other ophthalmology professionals who have volunteered their time and expertise for nearly two decades to provide clear vision for our community.
To learn more, or to support the Good Samaritan Eye Clinic, please visit www.rochestersa.org.