Vision Coalition Targets Uninsured and Underinsured Children 18 Years and Under Living in Philadelphia
Philadelphia, PA — Public Citizens for Children and Youth (PCCY), Eagles Youth Partnership, Wills Eye Institute, Thomas Jefferson University and Visionworks announce the fourth annual Give Kids Sight Day on Saturday, April 13, 2013. Free eye exams and free glasses will be provided for Philadelphia children ages 18 and under who are uninsured and underinsured and do not have access to vision care. Registration opens at 8:00am and extends through 2:00pm at Jefferson University Hospital Alumni Hall at 10th and Locust streets. After registration, medical eye exams will be provided at Wills Eye Institute and Thomas Jefferson University. Families will be helped on a first come, first served basis. No appointments are necessary. Special thanks to sponsor First Hospital Foundation for their support. For more information, call 215-563-5848, ext. 21 or visit www.childrenfirstpa.org/sightday.
“Each year, thousands of children in Philadelphia fail their vision screen at school and never get care,” says Alex V. Levin, MD, MHSc, Chief of Pediatric Ophthalmology and Ocular Genetics at Wills Eye Institute. “This has great impact on their ability to learn. Each year at Give Kids Sight Day at Wills, we identify children with a wide range of vision threatening eye disease including cataract, untreated legal blindness and eye muscle problems. This day is an opportunity for children to receive the vision care they need. Hundreds of loyal volunteers from Wills and health care institutions across the city will make this a reality.”
With approximately 26,000 Philadelphia children without insurance, and nearly 20,000 Philadelphia School District students failing a vision screening in the most recent academic year, Sight Day is more relevant than ever before. “Last school year, even with the full time services of the Eagles Eye Mobile, approximately 65 percent of the children who failed a school screening did not receive a follow up eye exam – which means these students didn’t get glasses,” said PCCY Health Policy Director, Colleen McCauley. “In addition to providing free eye care on Sight Day, we want to let parents know that if they have Medical Assistance or CHIP for their children these programs cover vision exams and glasses – even replacement glasses if needed.”
The sponsors of Sight Day are pleased to announce a new partnership with Visionworks, a national optical retailer with 17 stores in the Greater Philadelphia region. The company employs locally and due to their proximity and manufacturing facility in nearby Newtown Square, Visionworks will make the glasses for children to receive them within two weeks of Sight Day. All 1,000+ pairs of eye glasses will be produced at the company’s manufacturing facility the weekend after the event.
Registration, screening and selecting glasses at Sight Day may take several hours. Participating families are encouraged to plan ahead for food, transportation and parking. Thanks to a donation from Visionworks, two SEPTA tokens per child will be given to each parent. While waiting for eye care, families will be invited to participate in a health fair featuring blood pressure screenings and health information.
Interpreters in Spanish, Mandarin, Vietnamese and several other languages will be available at Sight Day to assist families. All families can get help applying for health insurance at Sight Day. Over 500 caring doctors and citizens have already volunteered to help at the event. For more information, call 215-563-5848, ext. 21 or visit www.childrenfirstpa.org/sightday. On the Sight Day Facebook page, flyers about the event are available in twelve different languages.
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ABOUT PCCY
Founded in 1980, Public Citizens for Children and Youth is dedicated to improving the lives and life chances of children in the Delaware Valley. *A copy of PCCY’s updated version of our Children’s Vision Health Resource Guide’ Children’ can be downloaded under the ‘Publications’ link on our website at www.childrenfirstpa.org.
ABOUT EAGLES YOUTH PARTNERSHIP
Eagles Youth Partnership brings health and educational resources to more than 50,000 children and youth each year throughout the Philadelphia region, inspiring hope and leveraging the star power of the Philadelphia Eagles to positively influence their lives. For 17 years, their Eagles Eye Mobile programs have been providing free eye care and eye glasses for tens of thousands of children who would otherwise lack access. For more information on Eagles Youth Partnership programs visit www.EaglesYouthPartnership.org.
ABOUT WILLS EYE
Wills Eye Institute is a global leader in ophthalmology, established in 1832 as the nation’s first hospital specializing in eye care. U.S. News & World Report consistently ranks Wills Eye as one of America’s top ophthalmology centers. In the Castle Connolly publications, “America’s Top Doctors,” Wills Eye has the highest number of ophthalmologists nationwide. Wills Eye is a premier training site for all levels of medical education. Its resident and post-graduate training programs are among the most competitive in the country. One of the many core strengths of Wills is the close connection between innovative research and advanced patient care. Wills provides the full range of primary and subspecialty eye care for improving and preserving sight, including cataract, cornea, retina, emergency care, glaucoma, neuro-ophthalmology, ocular oncology, oculoplastics, pathology, pediatric ophthalmology and ocular genetics, and refractive surgery. Wills Eye, America’s First, World’s Best. To learn more, please visit www.willseye.org.
ABOUT VISIONWORKS
Visionworks (formerly Eye Care Centers of America, Inc.) is a leading provider of eye care services with more than 590 optical retail stores in 40 states and the District of Columbia through 11 store names that are leaders in eye care service in each of their respective markets. Visionworks is committed to providing our customers with an excellent shopping experience and high quality products and service with the best value and selection in the industry. All stores offer designer and exclusive brand frames, lenses, sunglasses and accessories along with leading technology in vision correction. Their comprehensive service offerings include contact lens dispensing, in-store labs which provide one-hour service on most prescriptions at nearly all locations and doctors of optometry at or next to every store. Visionworks is a wholly owned subsidiary of HVHC, Inc. For more information about Visionworks, visit www.visionworks.com.
CONTACTS:
Коллин МакКоли
Директор по политике здравоохранения
Общественные граждане для детей и молодежи
215-563-5848, ext. 33
Colleenm@childrenfirstpa.org
Kory Aversa
Give Kids Sight Day Event Planner
Public Citizens for Children and Youth / Aversa PR & Events
215-840-9216
kory@aversapr.com