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Supporting Preventive Eye Care Across West Virginia
Retina Labs’ mission to help health plans close critical preventive care gaps for their members in-home starts with the people delivering that care on the front lines. Few embody our mission more than Alexis Hayes, one of our highly trained Retinal Imaging Technologists based out of Charleston, West Virginia. Through her personal connection to diabetes care management and passion for serving rural communities, Alexis plays many pivotal roles that are crucial for improving access to care and supporting positive long-term health outcomes.
From the Operating Room to In-Home Care Delivery
Before joining Retina Labs, Alexis spent six years as a Surgical Technologist & Surgical Assistant working across 12 surgical specialties, including ophthalmology. Her experience ranged from assisting with corneal transplants and cataract surgeries to vitrectomies and trauma care.
While she loved working in the operating room, Alexis sought a new career path offering greater work-life balance without leaving patient care behind in her future growth plans. This job search led her to Retina Labs to take on a position that seamlessly blends her clinical expertise with meaningful, community-based impact.
“I truly loved the surgical aspect of my previous role, but I wanted something that allowed me to continue helping patients while also being present in my own life. Thankfully, Retina Labs provided me with that opportunity,” Alexis recalls.
A Personal Care Connection to Our Company Mission
Preventing diabetic eye disease progression is more than just another job for Alexis given her own personal demographics and past experiences. Growing up in West Virginia, she saw firsthand how chronic disease combined with limited access to care affected families and her surrounding communities. Alexis’ father, who lived with an advanced stage of diabetes, helped maintain his vision health by staying consistent with his recommended annual eye exams, screenings that Alexis is now able to perform herself in her current role.
“Early detection made all the difference for my dad. Knowing that motivates me every single day on the job to give other families that same chance to preserve their eyesight.”
West Virginia has long faced some of the highest rates of diabetes in the country, with nearly one in every six adults living with the disease, a rate that is almost double the national average. Many residents face transportation, mobility, or appointment scheduling barriers that make access to routine care difficult. Alexis is proud to play an important role within our fully mobile care delivery team by bringing preventive screenings directly into health plan members’ homes, especially within the local communities she knows well.
Behind the Scenes: Life as a Retinal Imaging Technologist
Alexis’ day begins with careful preparation by reviewing her schedule, organizing equipment, and mapping out the most efficient routes to each member’s home. Before each in-home visit, she calls those members to confirm her arrival time and address any concerns they may have to help them feel at ease.
“I want every member to feel heard, informed, and valued because gaining their trust makes all the difference when helping them complete these life-saving screenings.”
Once inside the member’s home, Alexis focuses on what matters most: trust, education, and comfortability. She verifies member information, explains each screening process clearly, answers questions, and ensures her members understand any next steps involved with care planning. After each in-home visit, she confirms the member’s primary care provider details, leaves follow-up contact information, and thoroughly cleans equipment before heading to her next appointment.
Better Care in Fewer Visits: Maximizing Impact While In-Home
While completing diabetic eye exams is typically her primary objective, Alexis routinely supports multiple preventive care delivery screenings during a single in-home visit with members, including:
- Bone Density Scans for Osteoporosis
- A1C Blood Testing for Diabetes
- uACR & eGFR Testing for Kidney Health
- Colorectal Cancer Testing for Colon Health
Every evening upon completing her in-home visit route for the day, Alexis submits detailed documentation and retinal images for remote interpretation by Retina Labs’ network of licensed ophthalmologists. These ophthalmologists rely on Alexis’ ability to capture high quality gradable images to ensure clinical accuracy, timely results delivery, and continuity of care planning.
Improving Member Health, One In-Home Visit at a Time
Alexis’ work directly supports our health plan clients by helping their members close critical HEDIS gaps in care, especially for those who struggle with accessibility relative to traditional clinical settings. By increasing screening completion rates through coordinated care delivery scheduling, Alexis enables earlier detection, timely intervention, and improved long-term health outcomes for chronic disease management.
Many of Alexis’ most meaningful moments shared with members aren’t tied to diagnostics alone, but rather to simple human connections she’s made along the way.
“Sometimes it’s just a five-minute conversation with someone who can’t get out of the house often. Other times it’s showing a member how to use their glucometer when no one else has stopped and taken the time to do so. Every one of these moments matter to me, both personally and professionally from a perspective of growth,” Alexis shares.
During one in-home visit, Alexis helped a member learn how to use the blood glucose monitor they had owned for months but never understood how to properly use it. This simple yet powerful interaction ultimately enabled them to take control of this crucial diabetes health management tool moving forward.
Real-Time Problem Solving While in the Field
Providing care for members in their own homes comes with its own unique set of challenges. From smaller pupil sizes that require environmental adjustments to adequately capturing gradable retinal images while addressing scheduling conflicts that demand flexibility, Alexis approaches each obstacle with patience, creativity, and a solutions-first mindset.
“Being fully mobile allows us to meet members where they are, sometimes quite literally. That flexibility is one of Retina Labs’ greatest strengths when it comes to care delivery.”
Creating & Delivering Value for Our Health Plan Clients
Through consistent delivery of quality preventive care centered around patient education, Alexis helps reinforce Retina Labs’ reputation as a trusted extension of our health plan clients’ quality improvement teams. Her role supports many critical components along the care continuum, including:
- Improving Quality & HEDIS Performance Metrics
- Increasing Member Engagement, Satisfaction, & Plan Retention Rates
- Delivering Reliable & Accurate Clinical Data for Follow-Up Care Plans
- Enhancing Preventive Care Delivery Experiences with a Focus on Long-Term Health Outcomes
“Every in-home visit I make is a reflection of our health plan clients’ mission to ensure equitable access to preventive care, a responsibility that I continue to keep top of mind each day I’m out in the field,” Alexis explains.
Company Culture That Values a Team-First Approach
For Alexis, Retina Labs stands apart from other in-home care delivery companies because of its culture. She highlights a strong team-first mindset, support from leadership, and the approach taken to providing their employees with various opportunities for professional growth.
“Feeling heard, understood, and appreciated isn’t something you get everywhere. Fortunately for my role here at Retina Labs, their investment in employee satisfaction is taken seriously and emphasized regularly.”
Words of Wisdom to Inspire Future Field Technologists
For those considering a career as a Retinal Imaging Technologist, Alexis offers up an anecdotal bit of guidance:
“Lead with compassion. Expect the unexpected. If you’re looking to build meaningful one-on-one connections through human interaction and want a role where you can truly impact someone’s life, this career can offer you an incredibly rewarding path to fulfillment.”
A Mission That Hits Close to Home
At the core of Alexis’ work is her commitment to member education, long-term health empowerment, and chronic disease prevention, all of which remain especially important relative to her own community and the people of West Virginia.
“My mission is simple: protect vision, close crucial care gaps, and make sure no one is left behind while positively shaping the trajectory of their health-related goals. Helping people has always played a key role in landing my dream job, and that’s exactly what I’m doing today.”
Through dedicated and compassionate Retinal Imaging Technologists like Alexis, Retina Labs continues to deliver measurable value for our health plan clients and their members – one preventive care delivery experience at a time.
Join Retina Labs to Make Preventive Care More Accessible & Convenient
Want to learn more about how our team supports health plans and their members? Visit our Careers page below and our member-specific website for more information:
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