UMass Memorial offering first Worcester child eye surgery

Photo/Courtesy A pediatric opthalmologist at Children's, Suzanne Johnston, will perform eye surgeries at UMass Memorial Eye Center at its Hahnemann campus two days per month.

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By Grant Welker

UMass Memorial Medical Center is offering what it says is the first child eye surgery unit in Worcester in a new collaboration with Boston Children's Hospital.

A pediatric opthalmologist at Children's, Suzanne Johnston, will perform eye surgeries at UMass Memorial Eye Center at its Hahnemann campus two days per month. The service, which began last month, is the first of its kind in Worcester, according to UMass Memorial. Children otherwise would have to travel to Boston for eye surgery, the hospital said.

Eye surgery is the latest new feature to be rolled out in the last few years in UMass Memorial's ophthalmology department. The department has also opened a clinic in a diabetes unit at UMass Medical Center's University Campus and an outpatient center in Northborough, and has hired optometrists for the first time.

“Convenient, closer to home access to expert eye care will make a huge difference in the lives of families and their children in this area,” Shlomit Schaal, the chair of the department of ophthalmology, said in a statement. “We are fortunate to have a physician with the credentials of Dr. Johnston on board pioneering this service at the Medical Center."