Access to UPMC Kildare Expands with New Shuttle Service
Access to UPMC Kildare Expands with New Shuttle Service
For ophthalmology patients, transportation is vital to their overall eye health. If they do not have a
family member to take them to and from appointments, visual impairments and public transit
limitations may prevent them from accessing the healthcare necessary to maintain or improve their
To ensure all patients receive ophthalmology care, UPMC Kildare Hospital in Clane, a partner of the
Institute of Eye Surgery (IOES), now offers flexible van service, to transport patients to and from the
hospital.
Patients in need of transportation can arrange for the shuttle to pick them up at their home, referring
GP / optometrist or a local public transit station. The van will take them to UPMC Kildare, and at the
“At UPMC, we strive to provide our communities with the highest quality healthcare, but we realise that
some cannot access the specialists they need due to limitations outside their control,” said David Beirne,
managing director of UPMC in Ireland. “This shuttle service allows us to meet patients where they are,
providing a safe and reliable way to visit the UPMC and IOES providers they depend on.”
Patients can contact IOES in UPMC Kildare at 045-230420 to make transportation arrangements.
Since acquiring UPMC Kildare in November 2019, UPMC and IOES have been working together to
establish a national Ophthalmology Network of Excellence. Thus eliminating the need for patients
having to travel for advanced eye care. In addition to expanding the hospital’s services, including
Orthopaedics, Cardiology, Sports Medicine, Urology and Endoscopy.
IOES (ioes.ie), Ireland’s largest ophthalmology service, provides a full range of sub-specialty services at
the hospital, including cataract removal, laser vision correction, treatment of age-related macular
degeneration, glaucoma, dry eye / blepharitis and vitreoretinal surgeries and for both adults and
children. IOES also offer a national 24 hour24-hour Eye Casualty Service. As the only ophthalmology
clinic in Ireland with an embedded clinical trials team, IOES is a fitting partner for UPMC, a leading
academic medical center affiliated with the University of Pittsburgh, which ranks fifth in National
Institutes of Health research funding.
Under the leadership of José-Alain Sahel, M.D., chair of the Department of Ophthalmology at Pitt’s
School of Medicine and director of the UPMC Eye Center, UPMC Kildare is connected to cutting-edge
vision research and clinical trials in Pittsburgh and Paris. A world-renowned expert in efforts to prevent
and cure blindness, Sahel also helped to develop the UPMC Vision and Rehabilitation Tower in
Pittsburgh, which will serve patients from around the world with eye diseases and vision impairment.