Prevent Blindness Provides Opportunities for Awareness and
Action in Support of New Legislation to Provide Much-needed Funding
for Children's Vision Programs in the
United States
CHICAGO, July 30,
2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Prevent Blindness, the
nation's leading volunteer eye health and safety nonprofit
organization, has once again declared August as Children's Eye
Health and Safety Month. The goal is to educate parents,
caregivers, professionals and policy makers on the important role
vision and eye health plays in a child's development, learning
ability, and social engagement. Prevent Blindness offers free
materials on children's vision issues, such as myopia
(nearsightedness) and amblyopia (lazy eye), provides information on
access to eye care, and encourages individuals to advocate for
federal funding for state and community children's eye health
programs.
"We encourage everyone to join us in this
mission and find out how to help us put our kids on the path to a
lifetime of healthy vision," said Jeff
Todd, president and CEO of Prevent Blindness.
A new report authored by volunteer researchers and staff of the
National Center for Children's Vision and Eye Health at Prevent
Blindness (NCCVEH), titled "Association of Sociodemographic
Characteristics with Pediatric Vision Screening and Eye Care: An
Analysis of the 2021 National Survey of Children's Health" in
Ophthalmology, found that only 53 percent of U.S. children received
a vision screening in 2021. This disparity is even more pronounced
among children from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Without early detection and treatment, uncorrected vision
disorders can impair healthy development, interfere with learning,
and even lead to permanent vision loss. However, vision screening
and regular eye care can help detect and treat potentially
irreversible vision impairment. Visual functioning is a strong
predictor of academic performance in school-age children.
In recognition of Children's Eye Health and Safety Month,
Prevent Blindness offers free resources including fact sheets,
social media graphics, toolkits, videos and webpages on a variety
of topics on children's vision from infancy through adolescence.
The NCCVEH, now celebrating its 15th Anniversary, provides
resources on getting your child ready for school, taking a child to
an eye doctor, preparing your child for wearing glasses or contact
lenses, tips for preventing eye injuries, and much more.
Prevent Blindness also recently launched the new "Retinopathy of
Prematurity (ROP) Education and Support Program," as part of the
first-ever ROP Awareness Week. Retinopathy of Prematurity is a
condition caused by abnormal development of retinal blood vessels,
occurring as a complication of preterm birth and/or low birth
weight. Prevent Blindness offers free fact sheets and social media
graphics in English and Spanish, a dedicated webpage, and a
comprehensive new video series, featuring parents of children with
ROP, ROP patients, a pediatric ophthalmologist, psychologist, ROP
nurse, and family support organizations. The program is supported
by funding from Regeneron.
According to a study from the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, between 2001 and 2017 the number of people under age 20
living with type 1 diabetes increased by 45 percent, and the number
living with type 2 diabetes increased by 95 percent. For teens and
young adults, Prevent Blindness offers the new "Diabetes + The
Eyes: Vision Health in Youth" website and fact sheet in English and
Spanish. This resource provides detailed information on what
parents and care partners need to know to help youth with diabetes
protect their eye health. The resources were developed with support
from UnitedHealthcare.
Additionally, the Prevent Blindness Focus on Eye Health Expert
Series has free episodes dedicated to children's vision and eye
health topics including:
- "Children's Vision and Eye Health," with R.V. Paul Chan, MD, MSC, MBA, FACS, Head, Department
of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, The John H. Panton Professor
of Ophthalmology, University of Illinois at
Chicago College of Medicine, and Director, Pediatric Retina
and Retinopathy of Prematurity Service, Illinois Eye and Ear, UI
Health. Dr. Chan is also a volunteer member of the Prevent
Blindness Board of Directors.
- Through a partnership with Delta
Gamma, "Children's Vision and Parent Advocacy," featuring
Lauren C. Ditta, MD, Pediatric
Neuro-Ophthalmologist at Le Bonheur Children's Hospital and
Associate Professor of Ophthalmology and Pediatrics at Hamilton Eye
Institute, University of Tennessee
Health Science Center, and Delta
Gamma alumna.
- "Partnering with School Nurses for Children's Vision and Eye
Health," with Donna Mazyck, MS, RN,
NCSN, CAE, FNASN, former Executive Director of the National
Association of School Nurses (NASN).
Also available online is the recent "Emerging Eye Health Issues
in Young Children" webinar from the Office of Head Start's National
Center for Health, Behavioral Health and Safety. Expert speakers
included Donna Fishman, director of
the NCCVEH; Elise B. Ciner, OD,
FAAO, Pennsylvania College of Optometry
at Salus University; and Fuensanta A.
Vera-Diaz, PhD, OD, Associate Professor of Optometry,
New England College of Optometry, and
volunteer on the Prevent Blindness Scientific Committee, who
provided information on myopia prevention.
In order to promote early detection, care, and treatment for
children's vision, Prevent Blindness strongly encourages support of
the newly introduced Early Detection of Vision Impairments for
Children (EDVI) Act. The EDVI Act is landmark, bipartisan
legislation that seeks to establish the first ever federal program
for children's vision which will provide grants for states and
communities to improve children's vision and eye health through
coordinated systems of care, co-sponsored by Congressional Vision
Caucus (CVC) co-chairs, U.S. Representative Gus Bilirakis (FL-12) and U.S. Representative
Marc Veasey (TX-33). The EDVI Act is
currently endorsed by more than 80 state and national
organizations. Constituents are invited to contact their government
representatives by visiting:
Advocacy.PreventBlindness.org/prevent-blindness-legislative-action-center/#/.
State-by-state snapshots on children's vision screening
requirements, as well as percentage of children screened, and
percentage of children who have received eye examinations, are also
available at:
Advocacy.PreventBlindness.org/edvi-childrens-vision-your-state/.
"Back in 1908, Prevent Blindness began as an organization
dedicated to eradicating blindness in newborns. More than a century
later, we continue to promote children's vision and eye health
through public education and by advocating for support of programs
that provide access to eyecare," said Jeff
Todd, president and CEO of Prevent Blindness. "We encourage
everyone to join us in our mission, and find out how to help us put
our kids on the path to a lifetime of healthy vision."
For general information on children's eye health and safety,
visit PreventBlindness.org/your-childs-sight/. For information on
the NCCVEH and its variety of programs, visit
NationalCenter.PreventBlindness.org/. Vision care financial
assistance resources in English and Spanish may also be found at:
PreventBlindness.org/vision-care-financial-assistance-information/.
About Prevent Blindness
Founded in 1908, Prevent Blindness is the nation's leading
volunteer eye health and safety organization dedicated to fighting
blindness and saving sight. Focused on promoting a continuum of
vision care, Prevent Blindness touches the lives of millions of
people each year through public and professional education,
advocacy, certified vision screening and training, community and
patient service programs and research. These services are made
possible through the generous support of the American public.
Together with a network of affiliates, Prevent Blindness is
committed to eliminating preventable blindness in America. For more
information, visit us at PreventBlindness.org, and follow us on
Facebook, X, Instagram, Threads, LinkedIn and YouTube.
Media Contact
Sarah Hecker, Prevent Blindness,
312.363.6035, shecker@preventblindness.org,
PreventBlindness.org
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SOURCE Prevent Blindness