LINWOOD — Quality Eye Associates helps people see better, but it serves another crucial function as well — stopping them from losing eyesight all together.

Nationally, the population is getting older, people are living longer and diabetes rates are rising.

As a result, the practice is seeing related eyesight problems related to those trends, such as age-related macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy, said Dr. Jun “Jim” Huang, 56, of Northfield.

These issues can cause blindness if untreated. But major advances in treatment over the past decade are helping older people keep their eyesight, said Huang, an ophthalmologist and owner of Quality Eye Associates with offices in Linwood and Cape May Court House.

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Dr. Jim Huang, of Quality Eye Associates in Linwood and Cape May Court House, was treating patient Teresa Laurence for macular degeneration, an age-related disease that impairs central vision. She was 93, and could still see television, but only if she sat really close.

"I said, ‘Why don't you get a bigger TV?'," said Huang, of Northfield. But she didn't. So Huang said he would buy one for her, for her 100th birthday. She jokingly reminded him of it at every visit, Huang said.

Last month, Laurence became a centenarian and Huang bought her a 37-inch flat-screen TV. Daughter Ellen Laurence, 66, who lives near her mom in senior housing at Haven House in North Cape May, said the gift surprised and delighted Teresa, who really didn't expect it.

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