Disaster Relief | VSP Blog

Posts Tagged ‘Disaster Relief’

Mean Irene: A Pseudo – New Yorker’s Account

Posted on August 31st, 2011 by Lisa P.

Danielle DeVoren, VSP member (Hoboken, NJ)

Today’s post comes from our East Coast friend and VSP member, Danielle DeVoren. She shares her experience with Hurricane Irene.

This past weekend New York and the Northeast braced for one of the worst hurricanes in decades to hit its coast line.

New York (and in my case Hoboken, NJ) prides itself on being prepared, but are also often times over confident. However, with the constant warning from city officials there was no mistaking it – it was imperative to lay low!

In the 24 hours leading up to Irene’s visit, grocery store shelves were ransacked and the flashlight became the hottest commodity in town while we braced for her wrath. In Hoboken, the city literally shut down in the early afternoon on Saturday. Bars and restaurants were ordered to be closed by early evening, and ground floor apartments were subject to mandatory evacuation.

Living on the fifth floor, I just waited. There was true calm before the storm. The air was muggy and smelled like the beach. We waited… and waited… we watched the rain stop and start the wind pick and die back down. By early morning on Sunday (when I woke up) the worst was over. In cities like NYC and Hoboken, destruction was really on a block-by-block basis. Some blocks were completely flooded and some left unscathed. My block was somewhere in between, my apartment had a few small leaks in the roof (being on the top floor) and the basement of my building definitely collected some water.

As I watch the news, I realize how lucky I am, as some homes, cars and businesses in the Northeast were completely destroyed. Some of my colleagues still don’t have power. So while for me personally it wasn’t as bad as predicted, I was impressed by how my community banded together to ensure our safety.

Special note to VSP members and doctors:

VSP Members: If your glasses were lost or damaged due to the hurricane, please call our member services support line at 800.877.7195 for reinstatement of your benefits, regardless of eligibility.
VSP Doctors: If your practice has been affected due to the hurricane please call 800.852.7600, ext. 7373. We’d like to offer any assistance you might need so that you can provide care to your patients if you choose to do so.

File under: Disaster Relief, eye health, Eye Safety | Tagged: Disaster Relief, East Coast storm, hurricane, Hurricane Irene, vision benefits, VSP, vsp doctors, VSP member benefits
No Comments »

VSP responds to disaster in Alabama

Posted on May 12th, 2011 by David C

Mobile Clinic Manager Niki Myers (right) stands with a patient who was finally able to see again with her new glasses.

After the devastating storms that plagued the South in late April, VSP Mobile Eyes set its sights on helping the affected residents see clearly again. A disaster response team of VSP employees headed to Tuscaloosa, AL, where hundreds of homes were destroyed. Our fully equipped, 45-foot mobile eye exam clinic, Eyenstein, enabled us, in partnership with students and doctors from the University of Alabama Optometry School (UAB) and VSP network doctors, to provide free eye exams and eyewear to those who lost or had their glasses broken during the tornadoes.

We set up at the Red Cross shelter in Tuscaloosa and coordinated with the UAB to provide services. Each day proved to be busier than the last. With four portable exam stations in addition to the mobile clinic, we were able to help 79 patients in one day, with a seven-day total of more than 400 patients!

Some of the patients had prescriptions so strong they literally could not see right in front of them without glasses and had to feel around them with their arms and hands. Can you imagine not being able to see after a tornado devastated your town? It reiterates the importance of VSP’s disaster response services.

To help keep up with the high volume of patients, UAB provided two to three doctors per day as well as fourth-year students to assist with pre-testing, paperwork and patient flow in the lab. Many VSP providers volunteered their time and services as well.

The scene in Tuscaloosa was heart wrenching, but it was also inspiring to see how a community comes together in times of need. On almost every corner, neighbors were providing food, water or whatever supplies were available to help each other. Bess the Book Bus, a mobile literacy program that VSP is a sponsor of, also eased children’s minds when she visited the shelter one day to read to them and hand out free books.

The team is now on its way to Pratt City, Ala., where it will set up at the local Red Cross shelter.

File under: Disaster Relief, VSP in the Community | Tagged: Alambama, American Red Cross, Disaster Relief, Tornado, tornadoes, Tuscaloosa, VSP Disaster Relief, VSP Mobile Eyes
No Comments »

VSP Disaster Response

Posted on May 2nd, 2011 by Lisa P.

Hobby Lobby in Tuscaloosa, AL

VSP is actively conducting outreach to assist those affected by the tornadoes, flooding and severe weather that devastated numerous Southern and Midwestern states. VSP Mobile Eyes is in Tuscaloosa, AL with Eyenstein, our mobile clinic in partnership with Transitions Optical. Working with the local Red Cross chapter, and with the help of University of Alabama Birmingham Optometry students and VSP network providers, our disaster response team is identifying opportunities to provide free eye exams and glasses to victims in need.

We are working closely with all relief agencies, including the American Red Cross, to ensure all who are directly affected by the tornadoes or flooding and have eyecare needs receive that care. We have provided the American Red Cross with more than $1.15M worth of eyecare vouchers to cover eye exams and materials for anyone in the affected areas with broken or lost glasses. We are also working with our providers who may be in need of assistance to continue operations as a result of damage to their practices.

I Need New Glasses
Were your glasses lost or damaged due to one of the recent natural disasters? You have enough to worry about, so let us help you see again.

VSP Members: Call the Member Services Support Line at 800.877.7195 for reinstatement of your benefits, regardless of eligibility.
Non-members: Contact your local American Red Cross chapter and request a VSP eyecare voucher.

VSP Providers: How can VSP help?
We are contacting providers in affected areas as fast as possible. We will continue to follow up with those affected by the most recent tornadoes into next week. If you are in an affected area and have not yet been contacted, please let us know how you are doing and if your practice is damaged or closed. You can email vspoutreach@vsp.com or call 800.852.7600 ext. 7373. We are available to assist you to help you continue to provide care for your patients. The VSP mobile eyecare clinics are ready to provide support to doctors in affected areas as needed. Two clinics are already in affected regions, one in Little Rock, AR, and one on its way to Tuscaloosa, AL.

VSP has extended outreach efforts to the following affected areas:

April 9th: Tornado in Iowa
April 10th: Tornado in Wisconsin
April 11th: Tornadoes in North Carolina, Virginia and Kaufman & Johnson Counties in Texas
April 11th: Flooding in Fargo & Cass Counties in North Dakota and Becker & Clay County in Minnesota
April 13th: Tornadoes in Mississippi, Oklahoma and Arkansas
April 27th: Tornadoes in Alabama and Georgia

File under: Disaster Relief | Tagged: American Red Cross, Disaster Relief, Tornado, tornadoes, VSP Disaster Relief, VSP Mobile Eyes
No Comments »

Disaster Relief from Tornadoes for Michigan, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio

Posted on June 7th, 2010 by Liz B.

Our disaster response team is ready and standing by to help those affected by the recent tornadoes and severe weather that have affected parts of Michigan, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio. We’re working directly with our network doctors, business partners, and relief agencies, including the American Red Cross, to assess the situation and fulfill the eyecare needs of those directly affected.

If you need help with eyewear and eyecare services:

Any VSP member who has lost or broken their eyewear due to the tornadoes can call our Member Services Support Line at 800.877.7195 to have their VSP benefits reinstated regardless of eligibility.
Individuals without VSP coverage can contact their local American Red Cross chapter and request a VSP eyecare voucher.
If you have been directly impacted by the severe weather and are in need of eyecare services, please call VSP’s Member Services Support Line at 800.877.7195.

If you are a VSP network doctor that has been directly impacted by the severe weather and are in need of disaster support to continue providing services to VSP members, please call the VSP Disaster Outreach Team at 800.852.7600 x7373.