Macular Degeneration Health is an education site from Dr. James Deom, OD, MPH, FAAO, FSLS, Chief of Eye Care Services, Hazleton Eye Specialists (Eye Specialists of NEPA). The practice has five offices: Hazleton, Stroudsburg, Nanticoke, Pottsville, and Bangor.

The site explains age-related macular degeneration in plain language and describes Valeda photobiomodulation as an option that may be discussed for some people with dry AMD after a full exam. It is written for patients and families, and it includes a short page for eye doctors.

About Dr. James Deom

Dr. James Deom, OD, MPH, FAAO, FSLS, Chief of Eye Care Services, Hazleton Eye Specialists

Dr. James Deom leads eye care services at Hazleton Eye Specialists (Eye Specialists of NEPA), a practice with five offices in northeastern Pennsylvania: Hazleton, Stroudsburg, Nanticoke, Pottsville, and Bangor.¹ ² He sees patients at the Hazleton and Pottsville offices,² and he has been in practice since earning his optometry and public health degrees in 2014.⁵ His work brings together patient care, teaching, and service to his profession. He writes articles for the practice blog,⁴ lectures to other eye care professionals, and created and reviews this site.

Education and training

• Doctor of Optometry (OD), summa cum laude, 2014: The Pennsylvania College of Optometry at Salus University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (now part of Drexel University).⁵ ⁶
• Master of Public Health (MPH), summa cum laude, 2014: The Pennsylvania College of Optometry at Salus University (now part of Drexel University).⁵ ⁶ His MPH thesis was titled Brain Injury and Vision Needs Assessment, A Public Health Crisis.
• Bachelor of Science in Biology, summa cum laude, 2010: Wilkes University, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.⁵

Practice

Since 2014, Dr. Deom has served as Medical Director and Managing Partner of the practice’s eye care offices. In that role he developed the practice’s Dry Eye Center of Northeastern Pa, The Scleral Lens Institute, the Glaucoma Center of Northeastern Pa, and The Brain Vision and Learning Center.⁵

Fellowships and credentials

• FAAO: Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry.
• FSLS: Fellow of the Scleral Lens Education Society.
• Fellow candidate, Neuro-Optometric Rehabilitation Association.⁵

Leadership and service

• President, Pennsylvania Optometric Association, 2024.⁵ He has also served as president of the POA Board of Directors and on its POPAC and Legislative Affairs committees.⁵
• Past president, Northeastern Optometric Society.⁵
• Past national president, American Optometric Student Association.⁵
• Member, American Optometric Association, including its Cornea and Contact Lens Section and its Meetings Committee.⁵
• Founding member, Intrepid Eye Society.⁵
• Chairman of the Board of Directors, Hazleton Blind Association, which raises money for programs that support people with visual impairment in the Hazleton area.⁵
• Editorial Review Board, Modern Optometry, 2018–2022.⁵

Teaching

• Adjunct faculty and externship preceptor, Salus University, The Pennsylvania College of Optometry.⁵
• Adjunct faculty and externship preceptor, Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences.⁵
• Adjunct faculty, Misericordia University, where he has prepared ophthalmology lecture material for first-year physician assistant students.⁵
• Co-creator and co-host, Try Not To Blink, a weekly optometry podcast, 2017–2023, with more than 300 episodes.⁵

Awards

• 2016: PCON list of Most Influential Optometrists
• 2017: Young OD of the Year, Northeastern Optometric Society
• 2018: Young OD of the Year, Pennsylvania Optometric Association
• 2020: OD of the Year, Northeastern Optometric Society⁵

Publications, posters, and lectures

• Okeke CO, Burstein ES, Trubnik V, Deom JE, et al. Retrospective chart review on real-world use of latanoprostene bunod 0.024% in treatment-naïve patients with open-angle glaucoma. Ophthalmology and Therapy. 2020;9(4):1041–1053. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40123-020-00307-0 (PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33034885/)
• Poster: Real-World Use of Latanoprostene Bunod 0.024% in Patients with Glaucoma or Ocular Hypertension Naïve to Pharmacotherapy. American Glaucoma Society national meeting, 2020.⁵
• Poster: Brain Injury and Vision Needs Assessment, A Public Health Crisis. American Academy of Optometry, Public Health Division, 2014.⁵

Since 2014, Dr. Deom has presented COPE-accredited continuing education courses for optometrists at national and international meetings.⁵ His lecture areas include dry eye, cornea, and anterior segment disease; scleral lenses; glaucoma; brain injury and vision rehabilitation; electrodiagnostics (ERG and VEP); OCT angiography; the eye in hypertension, diabetes, thyroid disease, and high cholesterol; and practice management.

Clinical interests

Dr. Deom’s clinical interests include scleral lenses, dry eye, macular degeneration treatment, vision problems after brain injury (an interest shaped by his wife Jillian’s work as a physical therapist in neurologic rehabilitation), emerging peptide research in eye care, and the business and management side of running an eye care practice. These are areas he cares about. They are not claims about treatment results. Peptides are an area of ongoing research, and this site makes no claims that they work for any eye condition.

Family and life outside the office

Family comes first for Dr. Deom. He is married, and his wife, Jillian, is a physical therapist (PT, DPT) whose professional interests include neurologic rehabilitation, brain injury, and balance. Her work helped spark his own passion for how brain injury affects vision. They have four children: Brynn, Franklin, Miles, and Gemma. He loves nothing more than coaching his kids’ sports, and over the years he has coached football, basketball, baseball, and soccer.

He is also an avid triathlete. He has completed 8 full-distance IRONMAN triathlons (and counting) and more than 10 full marathons, and his 2027 schedule includes IRONMAN Lake Placid, IRONMAN 70.3 Puerto Rico, and IRONMAN 70.3 Penn State.

Patient education

His clinical opinions on this site are labeled as his opinion. They are kept separate from the positions of regulators and professional groups.

Sources for this biography: 1. Hazleton Eye Specialists provider page · 2. Get to Know Us, drkislan.com · 4. Article by Dr. Deom, drkislan.com, Dec 18, 2025 · 5. Dr. Deom’s curriculum vitae (provided November 2026) · 6. Pennsylvania College of Optometry, Drexel University Catalog

How medical pages are reviewed

Medical pages will show a “last reviewed” date after Dr. Deom has reviewed them. Drafts are marked “prepared for review.” Content is for education. Numbers are taken from cited sources. This site does not invent statistics and does not use “first,” “only,” or “best” claims in its own voice.

• Review policy
• Conflicts of interest

Contact

General contact: Hazleton Eye Specialists, 281 Airport Road, Hazle Township, PA 18202. Phone 570-453-2020. Fax 570-453-1020.

Referring providers: call the office at 570-453-2020 (fax 570-453-1020), or refer a patient or ask a question by email. Please do not include unnecessary patient identifiers in email.

For privacy, please don’t include patient names or other identifying details in email. Our team will call to schedule and gather details securely.

Office addresses and booking links for all five locations are on Find an Eye Doctor. Practice location pages: drkislan.com/our-locations.

Medical disclaimer. This page is for general education only. It is not medical advice and does not replace an examination or a conversation with your own doctors. Do not start, stop, or change any medicine or treatment without talking to the clinician who cares for you. If you notice new wavy lines, a sudden blur, or a blank spot in your central vision, seek same-day care from an eye doctor or an emergency department.