Fy-Eye, June 2018 - Prevent Blindness Wisconsin

PBWI small FY-Eye: June 2018

Record Breaking Year for Children’s Vision Screenings!

Thanks to our thousands of incredible partners including public health nurses, school nurses, healthcare staff, students, volunteers, childcare providers, Wisconsin Lion/Lioness, and Head Start personnel, it was reported that 261,251 children received vision screenings this year. Of those screened, 27,468 children were referred for a complete eye examination. In total, 1,437 partners were trained and certified as Prevent Blindness Wisconsin Children’s Vision Screeners at 78 total trainings.

Thank you to everyone who helped support these huge accomplishments!

23rd Annual Swing for Sight

Thank you to all who supported the 23rd Annual Swing for Sight Outing on Monday! The record-breaking day featured 96 golfers (including 2 celebrity golfers), 25+ sponsors, raffle, silent auction, live auction, special iron raffle and more! The event is expected to raise more than $65,000 to support free vision screening programs to save sight for individuals across the state.

Baird Gives Back

Prevent Blindness Wisconsin partnered with Baird during #BairdGivesBack Week in May to provide free vision screenings. Over the course of two days, eleven Baird employees vision screened 311 students at St. Anthony School in Milwaukee. Thank you, Baird, for helping St. Anthony students have the healthy vision they need for school success.

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The 59th Annual Meeting of the Board of Directors

Annual Meeting

Thank you to all who attended the 2018 Annual Meeting of the Board and Dinner on Thursday, May 17. A special congratulations goes out to the 2018 award winners:

Shared Vision Award– iLevel Media, inc

20/20 Service Award– Cheryl Orlando, RN, BSN

Children’s Healthy Vision Award– Rhonda Powell, RN, MSN

Adult Healthy Vision Award– Dr. Sandra Underwood, RN, Ph.D., F.A.A.N.

Gae Lach Sight Saver Award– Sharon Johnson

Prevent Blindness Wisconsin also welcomed two new members to the Board of Directors: Michelle Reed, J.D., CPHRM and Mike Meissen, Ph.D.

It was a great night sharing all of the work that has been done this past fiscal year including 261,251 children vision screened! Thank you to all of Prevent Blindness Wisconsin friends, partners, and volunteers who support our vision for each Wisconsin resident to have healthy vision at every stage of life.

Please visit our Facebook to see more photos of the night!

Wisconsin Residents Receive Vision Care Vouchers

This past year Prevent Blindness Wisconsin was able to help 120 individuals get the vision care they need through Healthy Eyes and VSP vouchers. The program helps low income children and adults who meet the program criteria receive an eye exam and/or glasses. Recipients of the program are often referred from shelters, low income clinics, schools, county health departments and many more partners. If you would like to learn more about our voucher program please visit our website.

“Now the world is a bright place. I couldn’t have gotten glasses without the help of the voucher. Thank you.”

-Jacklyn – VSP Mobile Eyes Recipient

New Vision Screening Follow-Up Resources Available

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Following-up with families of referred children after a vision screening can sometimes seem like a daunting task, yet is the most important step in vision screening. Prevent Blindness Wisconsin has developed new resources to make this process as simple as possible. These resources include new educational materials for both parents and teachers, translated materials in Spanish and Hmong, brand new Vision and Eye Health Curriculum for 3/4K, 5K, and 5^th Grade, and a Follow-up Manual to tie it all together. Check out our website for these documents and be sure to register for an upcoming training near you to get a comprehensive look at everything that is available to you.

Grateful for Grants

Prevent Blindness Wisconsin has been awarded a grant from the Catholic Community Foundation to support the Star Pupils – Milwaukee Catholic program. Thank you Catholic Community Foundation for helping ensure children in Catholic schools in the Milwaukee Archdiocese who would otherwise be left out and left behind, have the healthy vision they need to begin their educational careers with success!

Catholic Community Foundation

Adult Vision Health Programs

We had a blast vision screening residents at Lake Oaks Senior Apartments in their 50’s cafe in May. The old jukebox and classic cars made the vision screening extra special.

“Thank you so much for coming to Lake Oaks to vision screen our residents! They keep telling me how much they enjoyed having you there. We would love to have you come again!” – Lake Oaks Service Coordinator

Adults Needed for Diabetes Focus Group

Interested in participating in a diabetes focus group?

We are currently looking for 4-6 adults in the Greater Milwaukee Area who have diabetes and would be willing to participate in our diabetes focus group.

Through this focus group, we hope to gain insight on how diabetes has impacted each individual’s vision health as well as how Prevent Blindness Wisconsin can facilitate vision health education and improve access to vision care.

50% of people with diabetes are not getting regular, dilated eye exams. Dilated eye exams are the only way to properly diagnose and monitor diabetic eye diseases.

The focus group:

Is a one-time meeting

Lasts approximately 2 hours

Date, location, and time options will be determined and emailed to you after a census is taken on the amount of interest received.

If you are interested in joining this focus group or would like more information, please contact Courtney Murphy at [email protected] or call (414) 765-0505 Ext. 109

Carroll University Field Experience

This semester, Prevent Blindness Wisconsin was a field experience site for Carroll University Public Health student Lindsay Fuss. Lindsay worked with Prevent Blindness Wisconsin to analyze childcare centers throughout the state where screening occurs and helped create marketing pieces to reach out to childcare centers that are not yet providing vision screenings. In April, Lindsay finished her field experience, but was so moved by the work done by Prevent Blindness Wisconsin, that she has chosen to complete her senior internship here as well.

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Meet Christian!

4K student Christian was vision screened in December 2017 by Prevent Blindness Wisconsin private school volunteers at Bruce Guadalupe Community School in Milwaukee. After receiving a referral, Christian’s parents took him to see Dr. Strombeck, an optometrist at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, for a complete eye exam. Christian was diagnosed with myopia (nearsightedness) and astigmatism. Christian now wears glasses and has more interest in reading.

Christian’s mom told Prevent Blindness Wisconsin, “New glasses have helped my child a lot. He tells me all the time how much better he can see. He says his ‘life has changed.’ His writing has improved in school.”

We are appreciative of all of the volunteers who vision screen and help make a difference in the lives of children like Christian!

June is Cataract Awareness Month

Cataracts are the most common eye disease among Adult Americans. In Wisconsin, 66% of adults suffer from some type of visual impairment or eye disease; 18% of these cases are cataracts.

What are cataracts?

Cataracts are a clouding of the eye’s lens. 95% of people will have some type of cataract as they age, whether it is restricting to their vision or not.

The only way to properly diagnose cataracts are through dilated eye exams. Dilated eye exams are essential for early detection of vision concerns and complications. They should be received as recommended by your eye doctor to help monitor your current and future vision health.

Cataract surgery is one of the most common types of outpatient procedures done in the United States today. According to the National Eye Institute, approximately 90 percent of cases where cataract surgery is done patients experienced improved vision.

However, cataracts are the leading cause of blindness worldwide due to lack of resources and vision health education, making it essential to educate adults on the importance of dilated eye exams. If you notice a change in your vision, don’t wait—vision loss doesn’t, you shouldn’t either.

AR Eye App

What does life with cataracts look like?

Put yourself in the shoes of someone living with cataracts and see what your world would look like. Download the AR Eye App for your Android or Apple phone today to learn more about your vision health!

Cataract 2

Normal View View with a cataract

Your support allows us to carry out our vision for each Wisconsin resident to have healthy vision at every stage of life.

Thank you!

Upcoming Events

ABV Social/Cafe Grace Fundraiser

The entire month of July

$1 donated to PBW for every specialty cocktail

The Chancery Mequon Fundraiser

Thursday, July 12

Bring in the flyer on our Facebook event page and PBW will receive 25% of meal proceeds

Addi’s Walk

Wednesday, August 1, 2018

DoMUS Boardwalk

World Sight Day

Wednesday, October 11, 2018

Purchase your t-shirt here!

Upcoming Trainings

Certified Vision Screener Training Schedule

About Us

Founded in 1958, Prevent Blindness Wisconsin improves the lives of children, adults, and families through early detection of eye conditions to prevent blindness and preserve sight. On-going vision screening activities and state-wide public health education lead to a lifetime of healthy vision.