Providing No Cost Vision Care To Those in Need

Matt, through the services and coordination of the Health Project’s Community Health Workers, was scheduled for a much-needed eye appointment with VSP® Eyes of Hope®. “I felt that the doctor did an amazing job. He was very caring and had a lot of concern with my Type 1 Diabetes. He overdid what he was supposed to do as far as the program is concerned. He dilated my eyes, did a search for any issues, and checked the overall health of my eyes. It had been several years since I have had my eyes checked because my insurance does not cover it. ”

Figure 1: Lori assists a patient with measuring and fitting his glasses on the mobile unit.

VSP, Eyes of Hope provides immediate access to eye exams and glasses for individuals in need and supports optometrists delivering eye care to those in need globally. In 2018, they celebrated the early achievement of their goal to provide access to eye care and eyewear for 2 million people in need with a commitment to reach another #MillionMore by 2020.

Figure 2: Hundreds of glasses align the shelves in the Mobile Clinic.

Their mobile eye care clinic’s program was developed from the relief response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005. VSP was on the scene to help doctors, whose practices had been destroyed, quickly return to providing eye care, and to offer no-cost replacement eyewear for community members. Today, the mobile eye care clinics partner with charitable organizations and VSP network doctors across the U.S. when not deployed to communities affected by disaster.”We have traveled to Hurricane Harvey, Super Storm Sandy, tornados in Alabama, and to major fires in Paradise California. We will stay for up to 4-5 weeks at a time to provide disaster relief for those in need, and to provide employment for VSP doctors in that area of the disaster until their offices are back up and running,” stated Lori Fanning, a VSP Mobile Clinic Operations Manager. “During outreach activities, like in Muskegon, we partner with organizations that can connect us with patients in need, and from there the organization will schedule the clients to be seen”.

Each clinic is outfitted with an eye exam room and portable exam equipment to provide comprehensive eye exams, an eyewear dispensary stocked with popular frame brands, and an optical finishing lab.

Figure 3: Lori Fanning, Mobile Unit Operations Manager, measures eyeglass lenses that will be fitted into a donated pair of eyeglasses for a patient.

To view upcoming locations and dates, please visit globaleyesofhope.com and select Mobile Clinics. The Mobile Clinic schedule can also be found at www.vspmobileeyes.com