Expansion triples facilities at Bascom Palmer Eye Institute

"This $22 million expansion reaffirms Bascom Palmer Eye Institute's long-standing commitment to deliver the highest level of ophthalmologic care, research, and education," said Bascom Palmer Eye Institute's Chairman Carmen A. Puliafito, MD, MBA.

The institute installed a digital fundus autofluorescence system to capture digital images of the retina and macula to detect the early signs of disease progression in patients with dry age-related macular degeneration.

The LASIK and Vision Correction Center's surgical suite includes an observation area and 50-seat conference theater designed for patient and physician education. Surgical procedures can also be simulcast to academic centers worldwide.

Three operating rooms of the ambulatory surgery center have the most up-to-date ophthalmic surgical instrumentation, plus 14 presurgical and postoperative recovery stations are available for patients.

The new campus significantly expanded space for clinical studies, including full-time specialists who will oversee patient care and research in conditions and diseases of the retina.

In the next 2 years, Bascom Palmer will incorporate an electronic medical record (EMR) system for physicians' notes and all appointments and services delivered throughout the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine's health-care system.

"This will be a huge medical benefit for patients, so when they travel out of state or abroad, the EMR system will allow our physicians to access or transmit their medical records anywhere in the world," Dr. Lee said.