Prevent Blindness Selected As Partner In National Effort To Improve Vision And Eye Health

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

For more information:

Prevent Blindness, Ohio Affiliate

Taylor Elder

Phone: 800-301-2020 ext.105

E-mail: [email protected]                                                                                      

Prevent Blindness Selected As Partner In National Effort To Improve Vision And Eye Health

(Columbus, OH – March 7, 2019) The Ohio Affiliate of Prevent Blindness will serve as a partner in a pilot project led by the Ohio Department of Aging aimed at assessing and building the capacity of states to improve vision and eye health. 

In partnership with the National Association of Chronic Disease Directors (NACDD), the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Vision Health Initiative (VHI) is funding seven grantees located in six states (AL, NC, OH, TX, VA, WI). Grantees funded through this innovative partnership between CDC/VHI and NACDD are currently engaged in a number of activities designed to: (1) Characterize and monitor the public health burden of eye disease and vision loss; (2) Promote systems change to prevent vision loss and enhance access to eye care; and (3) Implement promising interventions related to vision and eye health.

The Ohio Department of Aging, Ohio Department of Health, the Ohio Affiliate of Prevent Blindness and The Ohio State University (OSU) College of Optometry have collaborated since 2003 through Ohio’s Aging Eye Public Private Partnership to implement multi-faceted interventions designed to enhance vision and eye health among Ohioans. As a NACDD Vision and Eye Health grantee, the Ohio Partnership will coordinate the efforts of 20 statewide partners to educate Ohioans about the importance of early detection and treatment of eye problems to support public education, community services, training and advocacy efforts all geared to leverage existing networks and enhance existing systems of care and communication.

A portion of the grant will support Prevent Blindness programming including its Young Investigator Fellowship Award for Female Scholars in Vision Research and the EyeWatch Program for Diabetes Educators to teach nurses, community health workers, public health and aging network professionals, outreach personnel and allied health professionals about the signs, symptoms, and complications of the secondary diseases of diabetes.

“Prevent Blindness is honored to partner in this important initiative which supports a collective aim of preventing blindness and preserving sight,” said Sherry Williams, President & CEO of the Ohio Affiliate of Prevent Blindness. For more information on Prevent Blindness, visit www.pbohio.org or call 1-800-301-2020.

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. The Ohio Affiliate of Prevent Blindness is Ohio’s leading volunteer nonprofit public health organization dedicated to preventing blindness and preserving sight. We serve all 88 Ohio counties, providing direct services to more than 1,000,000 Ohioans annually and educating millions of consumers about what they can do to protect and preserve their precious gift of sight. For more information or to make a contribution, call 800-301-2020. Or, visit us on the web at www.pbohio.org or facebook.com/pbohio. Or, visit us on the Web at preventblindness.org or facebook.com/preventblindness.