The Department of Ophthalmology is charting an exciting course of clinical growth, as evidenced by its expanding geographic footprint spanning multiple new locations across both Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Scheie holds to a vision of an inclusive health system that prioritizes access—offering cutting-edge care across ever-expanding landscapes and communities.
The Scheie Eye Institute is poised for significant strategic growth with its expansion into Marlton, NJ, and Newtown, PA, enhancing patient access to specialty and sub-specialty ophthalmic care and addressing the growing demand for services beyond our home base in Philadelphia. Chief Operating Officer Chip Barbara and Director of Operations Meredith Brady reflect that this strategic move into Marlton and Newtown provides a crucial opportunity for Scheie to better position itself within the communities surrounding Philadelphia—delivering specialty care closer to patients' homes and enabling the establishment of a robust network of referring providers to ensure that new patients can receive timely eye care.
Scheie’s expansion also facilitates seamless referrals from existing Penn Medicine practices, enhancing continuity of care within the Penn system. Meredith Brady explains, "The department made a strategic decision to expand into two markets where Penn Medicine practices already exist. Penn referring providers can seamlessly refer their patients for eye care, and patients have the option to stay within the Penn system if they choose. We have also made strides to connect with referring providers outside of Penn to ensure their patients can access the highest quality eye care in their community." This new level of access and connections to the community also bolsters Scheie’s ability to identify candidates for development of novel treatments. Complementing her perspective, Chip Barbara highlights the importance of clinical trials: “We are capturing new patients as well as establishing relationships with physicians in those communities who will refer their patients to us.”
Chip and Meredith both emphasize Scheie’s ambition to lead in the region. "We aim to address the general and acute ophthalmological needs of the patients living in those regions," says Chip. Meredith expresses her agreement on operational goals: "We have a significant demand for general and specialized ophthalmic care as evidenced by our extraordinarily busy clinics. We are actively working on reducing the gap from the time a patient calls to schedule their appointment to the time they are seen in clinic. Our expansion strategy will only help to close that gap and achieve those aims." Scheie’s new satellite locations offer comprehensive ophthalmology, cornea & cataract surgical evaluations, and glaucoma services. "With the expansion of either an existing site or movement to a new site, or the addition of incremental sites, we also plan to offer optometry care and optical shop services," states Chip.
Technological evolution is integral to Scheie’s strategy. "I believe telemedicine will play a larger role in our practice within the next few years," Meredith predicts, noting the recruitment of Dr. Lama Al-Aswad as Director of Teleophthalmology, AI, and Innovations. Likewise, Chip states, "This initiative aims to expand telemedicine services, allowing Scheie to reach more patients within and beyond the Philadelphia region." Advances in diagnostic imaging technology will enable community providers to screen for conditions like diabetic retinopathy and refer patients to the appropriate specialists.
As the Scheie Eye Institute continues to expand, we will continue to provide the latest technology and innovative treatments to a broader patient base—reinforcing our mission to deliver top-tier care and education to our communities near and far. As Chip states, Scheie’s goals continue to be to lead as a “top academic medical center” wherein having access to the most up- to-date technology and delivering cutting-edge treatments is a must."
by Maressa Park