EYE CARE PROGRAM:
Since SSA’s inception, over 850,00 children have received comprehensive eye exams, eyeglasses, medications, surgeries and case management support through our Eye Care Program. We provide individual case-managed eye care services—from the initial dilated eye examination to the final treatment—along with recurring eye care throughout childhood to 50,000+ children referred to this program annually throughout Alabama and in nine additional states (AR, FL, GA, LA, MS, NC, SC, TN, TX). Through our program, we are able to achieve completed eye care outcomes for an average of over 75% of children referred, which represents a 150% increase in the number of children actually receiving crucial eye care. Children are referred to SSA via failed vision screenings at school, from teachers, school administrators, school nurses, eye care professionals and parents. Each child referred to SSA is assigned a case specialist to manage his/her eye care needs from start to finish. Via multiple calls and letters, initial contact is established with an overwhelming majority of parents/guardians. They are informed of the screening results and educated about the importance of recurrent eye care. We then schedule comprehensive eye exams with local eye care providers, remind parents/guardians of appointments, and arrange transportation as needed. We also coordinate prescribed treatments, all at no cost to underserved families. Insurance coverage is utilized to pay for applicable costs, while costs not covered by insurance are donated as in-kind services by our SSA provider network, or paid out-of-pocket by SSA. LOW VISION & BLINDNESS PROGRAM:
In the course of providing our signature follow-up eye care services through our Eye Care Program, we realized that children with severe visual impairment also had an unmet need for vision assistive technology. We responded by adding our Low Vision & Blindness Program, which is dedicated to serving children with low vision & blindness who cannot afford the assistive technology essential to a child’s self-sufficiency and well-being. SSA is the only organization in the United States that proactively places high-tech vision aids, such as the Onyx Video Magnifier (VM), into the homes of severely vision impaired children on a large scale – all at no cost to qualifying families. VMs are more expensive than the average family can afford and are not covered by medical insurance. VMs are life-changing devices that allow each child to make the most of his or her remaining vision. They dramatically enhance contrast and magnify objects up to 118x, and will open up a new world of opportunity, allowing them to read, write, groom themselves, and even see their loved ones’ faces clearly. Our Low Vision & Blindness Program is expanding across the U.S., and has provided services for over 3,300 individuals in 16 states (AL, AR, AZ, CA, FL, GA, HI, IL, LA, MS, NC, NY, OH, SC, TN, and TX). SSA has successfully eliminated the backlog of children with low vision needs in all of Alabama, Mississippi, and the panhandle of Florida, 50% of Texas (including 100% of the San Antonio and Texas Hill Country areas), as well as over 75% of Louisiana, Atlanta, Memphis, and significant portions of several other states. Once the original backlog is eradicated within a city/community, the program’s maintenance phase—for children who may age into the program, move into the area, or develop new eye problems—serves a smaller amount of children newly identified each year (approximately 10% of the original need). When the children’s maintenance phase begins, we also assess any other vision needs in the area that may be met by SSA’s programs, such as providing vision & blind aids for adults with low vision or blindness. SCREENING PROGRAM:
Vision Screenings - Sight Savers America’s certified vision screeners provide screenings in five states (AL, GA, LA, MS, and TX). Screenings are provided on-site at K-12 schools, Head Starts, PreK’s and daycares for children age 6 months to 19 years old. In less than one second, our peer reviewed state-of-the-art optometric device screens for anisocoria, anisometropia, astigmatism, corneal reflex abnormalities, myopia, hyperopia, and indications of amblyopia. All children found to have a potential vision issue are referred to our Eye Care Program for comprehensive case managed follow-up eye care. Our vision screenings focus on school-age children; however, when supported by local funders, preschool-age and younger children are screened in an effort to identify amblyopic risk factors. Amblyopia may cause permanent vision loss if not identified and treated at an early age. Once a child with risk factors is identified, SSA provides comprehensive case managed follow-up eye care, preventing potential vision loss. Health Screenings - Sight Savers America works with underserved schools across Alabama to provide annual health screenings to PreK-12 students. The program screens for and detects a wide range of potential vision and health issues. Students receive a detailed health assessment at multiple screening stations and parents receive their child’s results. Each station screens for a variety of abnormalities. Children found to have a potential vision issue are referred to SSA’s Eye Care Program. Urgent medical issues are addressed onsite, and non-urgent medical issues are addressed with the school nurse. SSA also provides vision, dental, and nutrition and exercise education via health informational materials. School nurses receive aggregate vision and health screening data for the school, as well as individual screening results for each child.
