One of the most important exams in a students’ school year isn’t administered in the classroom, but rather in the optometrist’s office. For millions of children around the U.S., vision problems that go undetected, and a lack of access to eye exams and glasses, make learning a challenge. To provide children in need with quality eyecare, VSP Vision Care is partnering with Boys & Girls Clubs of America to launch the VSP Eye Pledge, an online eye health awareness campaign. For every Pledge received VSP will donate a free eye exam and glasses to up to 50,000 Boys & Girls Club kids in need around the country, valued at more than $19 million!
1 Eye Pledge = 1 VSP Gift Certificate for a Child in need
Go to SeeMuchMore.com and take the Eye Pledge in just three easy steps:
- Select the Eye Pledge that’s right for you
- Direct a free VSP eye exam and glasses gift certificate a Boys & Girls Club of your choice
- Share your pledge to help spread the word and help us reach our goal!
Check out this video featuring BGCA discussing the importance of the campaign and the impact it will have to help children reach their full potential.
For more information about the VSP Eye Pledge campaign and to take the pledge, please visit www.SeeMuchMore.com. The site also includes an interactive, virtual savings calculator to learn about savings with VSP vision benefits, allows users to browse the latest eyewear styles, and provides helpful information about healthy vision.
At this past weekend’s Health Fair & Forum in Sacramento, 14 VSP employees volunteered their Saturday to staff an information booth, provide low-level vision assessments, or assist doctors Elisabeth S. Swan, O.D. and Thomas R. Swanson, O.D. who were also volunteering their services in SeeLia, one of the VSP mobile clinics.
Several of the VSP volunteers share their thoughts from the experience.
Marian H. assisted patients in the screening:
“The vision assessment showed that both a man and his daughter were in need of our services. The daughter is in the second grade and wants to be a teacher or a scientist when she grows up. She was having trouble seeing at school so her teacher moved her closer to the front of the class.
He knew they both needed corrective eyewear but had absolutely no way of providing for himself and his daughter.
I explained the importance of annual comprehensive eye exams and set him up with a VSP Mobile Eyes voucher and a doctor directory.
I couldn’t believe the change in his demeanor. He was so happy he started crying and it took a few minutes to get him calmed down. I assured him we were happy to provide this service.”
Judy M. assisted patients in low-level vision assessments and discovered:
“My most memorable moment was when I realized the young man I was talking to was having a sight-threatening issue, knowing time was so important to saving his eyesight.
Sure, I could be at home or going to a movie, you know, comfortable things. But for so many people there is little comfort. The people that come to these events come for a very real reason. It’s a need.”
Juliet C. manned the information booth, educating visitors on health risk factors prevalent in the African American community.
VSP Employees (L to R): Koi R., Juliet C., Cynthia S. and Doris B. volunteering at the VSP information booth
“I volunteered for this event because of the importance of educating the community on various health risk factors such as diabetes, heart disease, and hypertension.”
Cynthia S. helped educate visitors on what makes up a comprehensive eye exam.
“I volunteered at this event because I grew up in the neighborhood, and this was a way of giving back to the community. I met parents of people I went to school with and it felt good to be able to educate them on the many diseases that can be detected through the eyes. It was amazing how many people didn’t understand the difference between their perception of an ‘eye exam’ and a ‘comprehensive eye exam’ from a VSP doctor.”
Jenny B. assisted in the vision assessment process.
“..to see someone’s face when they realize that VSP isn’t expecting anything from them, that the exam and glasses given to them are free just so they can see better! I met a 52-year old woman who had never had an eye exam in her lifetime, making do with $2 ‘cheaters’ that really didn’t fix her vision problems!”
Me? I got to merge my photography hobby with my desire to volunteer in the community and work alongside VSP employees who I don’t see everyday! Check out the photos from the event at VSP’s Flickr gallery.
If you follow our blog regularly, or touch base with us on Facebook or Twitter, you’ll know that one of our primary goals is to make eyecare important, immediate, easy and fun.
For current members, that means taking advantage of existing benefits and making sure that vision care is a part of your family’s overall healthcare plan. If you are thinking about becoming a VSP member, we’ll show you how you can save money with VSP and different ways improving your vision can lead to a healthy lifestyle.
We’ve relaunched our interactive Web site SeeMuchMore.com! Check it out to see the new look and feel, plus videos, tips, and testimonials!
Here are a few of the highlights:
A fan of “Jay Walking” on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno? You’ll love our new EyeQ video series! Also included is the VSP EyeFiles series and videos about benefits enjoyed by VSP members.
Show your creativity with our fun, interactive features including the make your own eye chart app
Jill N. is a member of the VSP Global Public Relations team.
Recently VSP announced the launch of VSP Eye on Diabetes, a five state campaign created in response to the increasing spread of diabetes across the U.S. A lot of people (did you know?) are unaware that diabetes can be detected through an annual eye exam, sometimes as much as five years earlier than through a Fasting Blood Glucose (Blood Sugar) test!
It’s been found that 61% of Americans with vision coverage go in for their annual eye exams vs. just 21% who get an annual physical! This provides an opportunity for optometrists to be the first to detect a variety of chronic diseases, such as diabetes, in a patient. With new information pertaining to diabetes continuing to be introduced, it is important to realize that your VSP private practice eye doctor is being provided the most recent information available pertaining to diabetes and eyecare and is a key component to a patients diabetes-care team. You can find more information at the VSP Diabetes Discovery Center.
Check out the video of the day of outreach in Little Rock, narrated by the Mayor of Little Rock, Mark Stodola.
Jill N. is a member of VSP's Corporate Public Relations team.
The title of the event alone provides insight into why VSP Vision Care is aligned to the esteemed Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM) located in Atlanta, Georgia. The dinner, emceed by CNN Weekend Anchor, T.J. Holmes, was the third annual for the Hugh M. Gloster Society and VSP is proud to be a supporter of the Gloster Society since it was established in 2007.
Founded originally as a part of Morehouse College in 1975, MSM became an independently charted institution in 1981 and was the first medical school established at a Historically Black College and University in the 20th century. MSM is among the nation’s leading educators of primary care physicians. Notable MSM trustees and alumni include former U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. David Satcher, and current U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. Regina Benjamin, who appointed Dr. David Rutstein, another MSM alumnus, as Acting Deputy Surgeon General.
MSM is dedicated to improving the health and well-being of individuals and communities; increasing the diversity of the health professional and scientific workforce; and addressing the primary health-care needs through programs in education, research, and service, with emphasis on people of color and the underserved urban and rural populations in Georgia and the nation.
With VSP’s mission aligning so closely it makes for exciting opportunities for the two organizations to compliment and support each other in their commitment to increasing Americans’ access to quality eyecare and health education through raising public awareness that preventative care, knowledge and thorough care are keys to staying healthier.
Remember that post with the self-adjustable liquid frames? Not really? Was it because you didn’t want to read too much or because you were tired from all the reading and typing you do on the computer all day? Guess what – now you have NO excuse not to know about this.
Joel Kestenbaum O.D. is a VSP provider in Long Island, NY.
In recognition of Diabetes Awareness Month, Dr. Joel Kestenbaum has shared some thoughts regarding diabetes and eyecare. VSP is a proud National Strategic Partner of the American Diabetes Association. Join the fight. STOP Diabetes.
One of the first lessons I learned in optometry school was that diabetes was a leading cause of blindness. We were taught that early diagnosis was the key to preserving good eyesight. We were also taught that educating our patients about the effects of diabetes on the eye was extremely important. So here are a few tidbits to think about.
There are many early signs of diabetes, many of which are common eye complaints. Styes, double vision, light sensitivity, fluctuating vision, glare and frequent changes in eyeglass prescriptions are just a few early signs. These and other signs can also affect people who have had diabetes for a long time. Getting annual eye examinations by a qualified specialist can detect problems that may be vision threatening. Early detection can lead to early sight saving treatment. Read more »
Studies show that diabetes accounts for about 24,000 new cases of vision loss each year. The most prevalent eye disease in patients with diabetes is diabetic retinopathy, a condition in which blood vessels in the eye leak fluid and cause vision impairments including: blindness, blurred vision, floaters, shadows or missing areas of vision.
Throughout the month of November, you’ll see multiple posts on the VSPBlog educating about the impacts of diabetes to millions of Americans affected by the disease. Read more »
Last week, The Sacramento Bee published an opinion editorial article regarding the impact healthcare reform could have to stand alone benefits.
In the article Rob says:
Whether you are for or against the current health care legislation soon to go to a floor debate in Congress nearly all can agree that the current health care system is broken and needs to be fixed. What to fix is where the debate lies. But what about the things that aren’t broken?
Amazingly enough, there is a vital component of our national health care system that not only provides top-notch services, but actually has an incredible 90-plus percent approval rate by those who are covered. This component is America’s vision insurance system. Vision insurance and eye care not only deliver vital health care services but actually lower the cost for treating the chronic diseases that are bankrupting America’s health care system. It is a shining example upon which Congress should base the reforms they are now examining. So this begs the question: Why are they trying to change a part of the system that’s not broken?
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