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Damage at Fukushima power station; image by digitalglobe.com.

With the multi-layered disaster faced in Japan right now, it’s hard to look past the immediate needs and concerns to the future impacts of of the earthquake, tsunami, and nuculear reactor meltdowns.

There’s been much comparison of the dangers of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant to the disaster at Chernobyl, which happened a quarter of a century ago. While the situation in Japan appears to be less dire (although much is still unknown), scientists were able to learn much from the longterm effects of the Chernobyl meltdown that may come into play as the recent crisis unfolds.

Listening to NPR as I commuted home Monday night, I learned that a number of the Chernobyl emergency workers that were exposed to high doses of radiation developed cataracts. This connection was unknown prior to the Russian meltdown. There are mitigating factors for the Japanese: the exposure to radiation has thus far been relatively light, and there are treatments available to limit or slow the growth of cataracts.

To put it in perspective, an increased probability of developing cataracts in the future may be a minor concern to those struggling to make it through the crisis. But once the dust settles, long-term impacts will begin to reveal themselves.

Cataracts are a leading cause of blindness—I encourage any reader to stay attuned to the common warning signs:

• Painless blurring of vision
• Frequent prescription changes for corrective lenses
• Glare and haloes
• Colors looking dull and brownish
• Poor night vision
• Both sensitivity to light and finding lighting too dim

My heart goes out to the people of Japan as they fight to stay safe and cope with the loss of loved ones. I’m making a donation to the American Red Cross to help in any small way that I can. And as part of our commitment to the global community, VSP is helping double those dollars by matching up to $10,000 in employee contributions to relief funds.

Lori F. is a Disaster Response Team Member and Marketing Coordinator with VSP in Rancho Cordova, CA. When Tennessee was devastated with heavy rain and flooding, Lori immediately reached out to VSP Network Doctors in the area to see what her team could do. The following are just a few responses from them that shed some light on the damage caused to their professional and personal lives.

Doctor David J. Shen sat in his practice while a foot of water was being pumped out of his first floor office. Fortunately for him, most of his inventory was not significantly affected. He knew Downtown Franklin, TN and surrounding areas were overflown with flood waters so he immediately began to clean up his practice and was determined to provide patients with some level of vision care and quickly as possible.

Photo Source: Reuters

When VSP’s Disaster Response Team reaches out to our providers, more times than not, their personal lives are also affected. This is the case for Doctor John Anderson. His practice didn’t incur any damage from the flood but his home basement wasn’t so lucky. When he bought his home three years ago he didn’t think he needed to purchase flood insurance because he lived outside the flood zone. However, Dr. Anderson was thankful that we were reaching out to his community and was amazed by the quick response time.

Photo Source: Reuters

Disaster relief services are still available for those who have lost or damaged their glasses from the Tennessee flooding or any type of natural disaster. Find out how to get help.

VSP’s Disaster Response Team was formed in 2007, and since then, we’ve responded to 56 natural disasters throughout the country. We’re currently reaching out to Doctors in Oklahoma and Kansas affected by the tornadoes. My heart goes out to communities affected by natural disasters but it feels good knowing we can provide assistance when they need it most.

Jill N. is a member of VSP's Corporate Public Relations team.

With the disastrous Tennessee flooding continuing to cause major problems throughout the region, VSP wants to remind our doctors, members and non-members of disaster relief services available from VSP, if you are affected by the flooding or any type of natural disaster.

VSP Network Doctors in affected areas: Please email vspoutreach@vsp.com or call 800.852.7600 ext. 5697 to let us know how you are doing and if your office is damaged or closed. We are available to offer any assistance you may need so you can continue to provide care to your patients.

A car is pinned up against a tree by floodwater flowing under a bridge on Sunday, May 2, 2010 in Nashville, Tennessee. Severe storms dumped heavy rain on Tennessee for the second straight day. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

VSP Members in affected areas: If you have lost or broken your glasses due to a disaster and need replacements, you (or your VSP doctor’s office) can call VSP’s Customer Care at 800.877.7195 for an authorization for new services.

Non-VSP members in affected areas: If you are a non-VSP member and have lost or broken your glasses due to a disaster and need replacements, you may request a free VSP eyecare voucher from the local American Red Cross.

To find VSP doctor locations, use the “Find a Doctor” feature on vsp.com or contact Customer Care at 800.877.7195.

Jill N. is a member of VSP's Corporate Public Relations team.

On Tuesday, March 16th, VSP Vision Care and Transitions Optical unveiled a new mobile clinic, the third to be added to the VSP Mobile Eyes fleet. Outfitted with a state-of-the-art comprehensive eye exam room and a full dispensary, this new clinic also houses a finishing lab, providing glasses to patients on-site!

With this clinic comes a new name – that’s where you come in!

Starting today through March 31st, we’d like you to vote for your favorite name for the new clinic. You can vote up to twice – just go to the VSP Vision Care and Transitions Lenses fan pages on Facebook, vote and have the chance to an HD Flip Camera and more!

Thank you for participating and good luck!

Tell us which name you think fits best!

The new clinic at the Transitions PGA Championship for Healthy Sight!

Jill N. is a member of VSP's Corporate Public Relations team.

One of my first tasks when I came on board was to gather data to put together a 2008 recap for the VSP Mobile Eyes program. Through my research I also found numerous updates and testimonials from the disaster relief we provided. Now that we have embarked on another fire season in California I was curious to find out more about the specifics of how this sort of disaster relief is managed. Here is what I found:

VSP has a team of four employees who make up the Disaster Response Team. This team receives notifications of natural disasters across the United States through a variety of channels. This includes a range of not such hi-tech ways like self-observation, news stories on TV, online and radio or e-emails sent to the team from VSP employees, doctors, clients or members to more specific monitoring of disaster sites such as InciWeb. Once a notification is received, the team starts by researching the area and looking up VSP doctors who may be affected. Even it’s only one or two doctors, outreach support is immediately started.

The team attempts to contact our doctors in a number of ways. Depending on the amount of doctors in the affected area, initial phone calls are made and e-mails are sent out. The e-mails are sent not only to the doctors, but also to regional contacts who we ensure are aware of the disaster and are asked to forward any communication they receive from doctors who may be affected.

Once it is determined there is a doctor who has been affected, either by needing to close their office due to evacuation or if their office or equipment has been damaged, we work with them to provide whatever support they may need. For example, if a doctor has lost their office, we may able to offer our Mobile Clinic to them to use to service their patients or people in the community until their office is back up and running. If the clinic is not an option, we also have ten sets of portable ophthalmic equipment we can loan free of charge to set up in an area they can work for as long as they need it. Or if their office is not damaged but does not have electricity or access to the internet, we will work with them to ensure they are able to submit paper claims the same as they would online.

This year, we are also utilizing our new social media channels. These are used in a variety of ways, including as an extension for communication to our doctors and members, as well as to help monitor additional situations that may arise where our doctors need assistance. We had an example of this in July when a news report was reported on Twitter about an SUV driving through the wall of one our VSP doctor’s office. We were able to contact the doctor, ensure everyone was OK and offer assistance. Fortunately, the doctor was able to schedule repairs to the office fairly quickly enabling them to stay open for business as usual, but they were appreciative knowing they had options available if need be.

VSP's Mobile Response and Disater Response teams.

This year our Disaster Response Team has already responded to 15 disasters, including the larger ones such as the flooding in North Dakota, tornadoes in Mississippi and, most recently, the California wildfires. It is a good feeling knowing that the company I work for not only provides “insurance” that contributes to a positive quality of life, but it also provides “assurance” during times when it is needed the most.

Jill N. is a member of VSP's Corporate Public Relations team.

With the current California Wildfires in full force, VSP wants to remind our doctors, members and non-members of disaster relief services available from VSP,  if you are affected by the fires or any type of natural disaster.

VSP Network Doctors in affected areas:
Please email vspoutreach@vsp.com or call 800.852.7600 ext. 5697 to let us know how you are doing and if your office is damaged or closed. We are available to offer any assistance you may need so you can continue to provide care to your patients.

VSP Members in affected areas:
If you have lost or broken your glasses due to a disaster and need replacements, you (or your VSP doctor’s office) can call VSP’s Customer Care at 800.877.7195 for an authorization for new services.

Station Fire in Southern California, Sept 1, 2009.

Non-VSP  members in affected areas:
If you are a non-VSP member and have lost or broken your glasses due to a disaster and need replacements, you may request a free VSP eyecare voucher from the local American Red Cross.

To find VSP doctor locations, use the “Find a Doctor” feature on vsp.com or contact Customer Care at 800.877.7195.

Smoke and bad air quality can affect your eyes. See tips to protect your eyes from the effects.

Photo: Getty Images

Niki M. is a VSP Mobile Clinic Operations Manager.

With just a few weeks short of the one year anniversary to our nation’s 3rd most destructive hurricane, I had the honor to return to Galveston, TX  this week.  Hurricane Ike is estimated to have caused $24 billion in damage and devastated a majority of the city and all of our Galveston VSP doctor’s offices.

Last year, SeeZar, our first mobile clinic, responded within one week  when Ike touched down on September 13 as a category 2 hurricane. We sent a great group of VSP mobile response team members to staff the mobile clinic for a little over 6 weeks of disaster relief.  I was one of those staff members and spent over 4 weeks there.  There were many amazing, heartbreaking, emotional stories we heard from people in the community of how they lost their homes, pets, and even sometimes family members.  I had never been a part of a natural disaster, so not only was it an experience that I will never forget, but it also gave me a whole new appreciation for life and those I love.

A VSP doctor's office devastated from Hurricane Ike.

We made many good friends during that period of time, including our VSP doctors in the area, all of whom our hearts still go out to.  There were 4 VSP doctor’s offices that were either flooded (some with 6 feet of water!) or had trees fall into their buildings, caved-in roofs, or other major damage that left them unable to work until repaired.  Most offices had to be completely gutted and rebuilt from scratch.  One of the great things that VSP does with our community outreach program is pay the doctors to work on the mobile clinics during disasters, so they are able to make money while the work to get back to business as usual.

During natural disasters,  it is important to VSP, not only give out free exams and glasses, but also help our doctors in need.

Niki with Drs. Matocha and Ullman and staff.

We had the honor of working side by side with many of these great doctors in Galveston.  Dr. Ngala, Dr. Juarez, Dr. Matocha, Dr. Ullman, and Dr. Zein-Eldin were a few of the doctors that we were able to work with.  Naturally, working with these doctors 6 days a week, for 8 – 12 hours a day, seeing up to 65 patients per day, we created a bond.

Although our mobile clinic has left the area, VSP is continuing to provide assistance. We are working with charitable organizations in Galveston to provide vouchers for eyecare and eyewear as well as lists of VSP provider locations to those in need. Many of our doctors still face the challenge of fixing their damaged homes and practices, or in some instances, rebuilding their entire practice from the ground up. We will continue to monitor the needs of our doctors, and all of those affected by Hurricane Ike.

I would like to thank the selfless and tireless efforts of our doctors in the devastated areas, as well as VSP employees who worked with our dedicated mobile clinics team in Texas. It is my hope that our involvement in the hurricane relief efforts has helped provide some level comfort and reprieve to those affected by this storm.

- Rob

On another note, many of the doctors we have been able to reach expect to be back in their offices by the end of October or early November. Our doctors and staff have seen over 500 patients aboard the mobile clinic since arriving in Texas and will remain stationed in Galveston through the end of this month.

-Rob