Southeast Retina Center (SERC), led by Dennis Marcus, MD, welcomed the New Year last week by joining Eye Health America (EHA) on December 31^st, 2021. Dr. Marcus, with 27 years of experience, is well-respected and recognized as a key opinion leader by both his peers and industry. SERC is one of the go-to retina providers in Augusta GA-Aiken, SC and throughout southeastern GA with a strong culture of outstanding patient care, cutting-edge innovation, and clinical/surgical research.

Dr. Marcus is an internationally recognized leader in retinal research. He recently served as a steering committee member, principal investigator and advising developer of the newly FDA-approved port delivery system (“Susvimo”) demonstrated to reduce the number of injections and treatment burden for patients with wet macular degeneration. Last quarter, he presented surgical techniques and “pearls” to help introduce the port delivery system to retinal physicians in the US and Europe. He has also served as the protocol chair for the National Eye Institute-funded DRCR Retina Network multicenter trial evaluating wide-field imaging for diabetic retinopathy, the leading cause of blindness in working Americans. Dr. Marcus is also currently involved in retinal gene therapy trials and was the first to present initial results and treat diabetic retinopathy with gene therapy administered via “suprachoroidal” injection. “Dr. Marcus will become our Chief Clinical Research Director working closely with Dr. Cathy McCabe, our Chief Medical officer,” added John Swencki, co-CEO. “At EHA, Dr. Marcus will help expand innovative cutting-edge clinical research throughout our network of physicians and practices.”

EHA has seen substantial growth in the past three years, and with the addition of SERC, is currently operating with 80 physicians across 53 locations, 8 ambulatory surgical centers, and more than 1000 employees in South Carolina, Florida and now Georgia. The organization plans to continue investing in technology and services that create value, including patient engagement technology and revenue cycle management. Eye Health America was formed in 2018 via partnership of Clemson Eye, The Eye Associates, and LLR Partners, a growth-focused private equity firm, and is led by an experienced team of eye care veterans including Co-CEOs, Mary Lou Parisi and John Swencki; Chief Medical Officer, Cathleen McCabe, MD; Chief Development Officer, Philip Isham and more. By combining the best doctors, facilities, and leading-edge technology, EHA practices have an opportunity to expand their geographic footprint, develop new service lines and treat more patients through advanced care.