FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For more information:
Amy Pulles
Prevent Blindness
Phone: (800) 301-2020 ext. 119
Email: [email protected]
Prevent Blindness Trains Vision Screening Volunteers
NILES, OH (September 17, 2019) – The Ohio Affiliate of Prevent Blindness held a children’s vision screening training workshop for 17 area professionals who serve young children on September 16, 2019 at the Trumbull County Educational Service Center. Volunteers were trained and certified to conduct standardized children’s vision screenings that help detect early vision problems. Each trainee also received screening equipment valued at $950.
The training was supported by the Save Our Sight Fund, which was established by the Ohio General Assembly in 1999 and is administered by the Ohio Department of Health. It is funded by $1 voluntary consumer donations at the time of motor vehicle registration to support eye health and safety programs for kids.
“Ensuring Ohio’s children have good vision and healthy eyes should be a basic health priority here in the Buckeye State,” said State Senator Sean O’Brien. “The Save Our Sight Fund does much to protect the eyes of our young ones, and I’m proud to be a part of the coalition supporting it. I will continue to do all I can to make sure it remains fully funded into the future.”
Vision problems affect one in four school-age children and one in twenty preschoolers. Eighty percent of what a child learns is visual – good vision is critical to learning. Undetected vision problems can affect how well a child performs in the classroom. An estimated 47,300 Ohio preschool children (1 in 20) have a vision disorder including amblyopia (lazy eye) and strabismus (crossed eyes) that can lead to loss of vision.
Prevent Blindness recommends a continuum of eye care for children to include both vision screening and comprehensive eye examinations. All children, even those with no signs of trouble, should have their eyes checked at regular intervals.
To find out more information about vision screening or find local listing of vision screening trainings, visit www.wiseabouteyes.org.
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.
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