After treatment, the patients will reconnect with their doctors in Puerto Rico, to promote continuity of care. We’re now coordinating Eye Care: Puerto Rico (#EyeCarePuertoRico), for Puerto Ricans who left the island and need to contact a physician for emergency eye care in the U.S. territory’s physicians and patients in collaboration with The American Academy of Ophthalmology and eye centers and ophthalmologists in cities with large populations of Puerto Ricans.

Recognizing that Puerto Rico’s recovery will be a difficult, long-term process, our Institute took another step to support the U.S. We also partnered with WAPA television in San Juan, which stayed on the air during Maria, to broadcast public service announcements about eye care and the online communications channel. That allowed physicians, clinics and hospitals in Puerto Rico to coordinate patient calls, for example, if they were open or closed for emergency services. We contacted leaders in Puerto Rico’s ophthalmology community, who added eye care professionals to the social media and messaging list, hosted by our IT team in Miami.

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