This post was written by guest blogger Craig Rayl, who is a Customer Service Representative at VSP’s Eastern Operations Center in Columbus, Ohio.  

The first thanksgiving between the Pilgrims and the Native Americans was in 1621. When you think about the pilgrims and their voyage to the New World aboard the Mayflower you may wonder, how did they see the world? According to the American Optometric Association’s general history of optometry timeline, lenses have been suggested to help people with weakness of sight since 1263. The first pair of spectacles was invented in northern Italy in 1286. There might have been a pilgrim or two on the voyage that had to wear glasses to see the New World clearly and also all that food they were going to eat during the first thanksgiving feast. In 1621 we started to understand how we see and why lenses help us see clearly.

When you get an eye exam today the optometrist will perform a procedure that is called a refraction test. This test requires the patient to read a Snellen Eye Chart (also called the Big ‘E’ Chart) through a series of lenses that are put in front of the eye. The term “Snellen” comes from Willebrord Snellius, who was a Dutch astronomer and mathematician that rediscovered the law of refraction in 1621. Refraction is the change of direction of waves when it passes through a medium. Waves of light are a part of everything we see.  Light waves pass through the surface of the eye or a lens and then the surface of the eye forms images.  The Law of Refraction, also referred to as Snell’s Law, was a mathematical equation to help determine the angle of a wave of light as it passed through glass or water.

When the optometrist has you read the lines of letters on a Snellen Eye Chart he can determine the quality of your visual acuity or sharpness. In 1621 or before this time an eye test might not have been as accurate and probably took a very long time because an array of lenses weren’t available for the patient to look through. Today optometrists will use a Phoropter, which is the large space-age like visor that is put over your face. By switching the lenses on the Phoropter the eye doctor can determine the shape and curve of the lenses you will need to correct your vision. Also the optometrist will use an Autorefractor that can quickly determine the focus point over the retina that is the light-sensitive area in the back of the eye responsible for processing images.  This is a very important part of the Wellvision™ comprehensive exam.

The earliest glasses made in 1286 were convex lenses that could bend the focal length of light going into the retina. They corrected farsightedness and nearsightedness. The lenses were made out of glass and may not have been worn for long periods of time because glass is a heavy material and were uncomfortable to wear. Today lenses are made out of plastic including CR-39 and polycarbonate that are lighter and more durable materials. We still know that glasses were widespread and it is possible that a pair or two came toAmerica’s shore with the pilgrims in 1620. When you start to think about how the history of sight has impacted today’s society and how you see the world, you can think back to 1621 when the mathematician Willebrord Snellius figured out how we see everything including that huge Thanksgiving feast you will sit in front of. Dig in! Be happy that you can see what you eat.

The post The Way You See According to the Law of Refraction appeared first on VSP Blog.

“The VSP eye clinic was a tremendous opportunity for our youth community. The story of one person experiencing homelessness shows the impact of the event. Jess had been homeless for over a year, most recently staying on the street. She hadn’t been able to have her eyes checked since she was forced to leave her mom’s house due to constant conflict and neglect.  On the day of the event she was able to get an exam and a new pair of glasses. She was excited to get a basic need met and that she could see clearly.”

- Denise Smedja, Director of Homeless Youth Programs at Face to Face

SeeZar’s visit to St. Paul was made possible thanks to the support of Ecolab Inc., the global leader in water, hygiene and energy technologies and services that provide and protect clean water, safe food, abundant energy and healthy environments.

Dr. Bieter examines a local teenager onboard SeeZar

Dr. Joel Sollom enjoyed his day helping local youth in need onboard SeeZar

Services for homeless youth at Face to Face include a medical clinic, mental health clinic and a range of programs, including a drop-in resource center

Dr. Vue, a VSP Provider, is opening his private practice office next to Face to Face and visited SeeZar during the event

Dr. Bieter and Carissa onboard SeeZar

Kris Taylor of Ecolab Inc. helped provide free eyecare and glasses to local youth in need

The post Minnesota youth receive free eye care and glasses during SeeZar’s first visit to St. Paul appeared first on VSP Blog.

VSP and Transitions Mobile Eye clinic Eyenstein rolls into Birmingham to provide outreach

In 2011, VSP Mobile Eyes® responded to the destruction caused by 334 tornadoes in 21 states over three days. Over six weeks, we provided eyecare and eyewear to more than 6,800 patients either onboard the VSP Mobile Clinic or through VSP Mobile Eyes and American Red Cross gift certificates.

Alabama was one of the hardest-hit states where more than 300 people were killed during the storms. My teammate Lori Fanning, who manages disaster relief for the VSP Mobile Eyes team, ensured we were seeing patients there within three days of the tornadoes. We partnered with the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Optometry to visit Red Cross centers in eight different cities throughout Alabama.

I was honored to work alongside Lori for 30 days of our 33-day response. Although I’ve been on previous disaster relief efforts, none of them affected me quite like this disaster. Working incredibly long hours, we heard so many stories of loss, drove through so many destroyed communities, and spent many moments trying to figure out how Mother Nature could cause such havoc.

I felt such sadness after leaving last year. I couldn’t imagine losing my belongings, my house, or family members, friends, and co-workers the way so many people did. I couldn’t fathom how someone could ever move on from such a setback in life. But, the amazing news is that they have.

A UAB School of Optometry doctor pretests a patient

Together with Transitions Optical and the UAB School of Optometry, we returned to Birmingham, AL in February to provide outreach. We’ve heard countless stories about how others have overcome their loss and we have seen the amazing amount of work that has been put into rebuilding these devastated areas.

UAB School of Optometry students treat a patient in need

It’s been cathartic for me to see rebuilt homes and businesses along the once-condemned streets. It’s been uplifting to hear stories of how people have worked through their loss and made better situations for themselves. One of my favorite stories is of Mason, the Tornado Dog. This dog from North Smithfield, AL was literally swept away by the April 27th tornadoes. Nearly three weeks later, Mason hobbled his way home from miles away on two broken front legs! The family lost many of their belongings in the tornado, so to have their canine friend find his way back home was a miracle. Doctors were able to put casts on his front legs and today he is doing fine. He even has his own Facebook page now. We also learned from the local news about great organizations such as Habitat for Humanity that are helping many underprivileged residents rebuild their homes. We will always have a place in our hearts for the people from this community. There are so many people and stories in Alabama that I will never, ever forget.

Editor’s Note: 

VSP^® Vision Care is currently monitoring the severe weather in the Midwestern and Southern regions of the United States. Meanwhile, patients in those regions who have been affected by the recent severe weather and need eyecare or replacement glasses can receive them by calling 800-877-7195 for an authorization.

Non-VSP patients can contact their nearest local American Red Cross chapter or shelter to request a VSP gift certificate. To receive a certificate, patients must have a social security number, have lost their glasses during a disaster, and have either no vision insurance or no available benefits through existing vision insurance.

Niki with VSP Mobile Eyes teammates in Birmingham

A UAB School of Optometry student pretests an Alabama patient

The post Alabama residents in need receive eyecare with return of VSP Mobile Eyes following disaster relief efforts appeared first on VSP Blog.

VSP Vision Care president Jim McGrann assists a patient onboard a VSP Mobile Eye Clinic

“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.”  ~Winston Churchill

I had the pleasure of working alongside an outstanding group of optometrists and professionals from VSP Vision Care along with Berkeley College of Optometry students at Sunday’s Chinese New Year Parade and Festival in Stockton, CA.  The community came together in spectacular fashion to celebrate the Year of the Dragon.  It was a beautiful day filled with a dazzling array of performers and wonderful food.

This past Sunday was one of the best days I’ve had since I started working in the optical industry in 1999. The volunteer doctors on the clinic were able to examine 20 individuals ranging in age from grammar school-aged children to senior citizens who are cared for so deeply within this community. And, because they couldn’t see everyone, a group of local doctors have also committed to see an additional 100+ patients in their offices.

A Berkeley College of Optometry student tests a patient's vision

The story of each and every person I spoke with during the event, as they were checking in for their eye exam, underscored the importance of our Mobile Eyes and Community Outreach programs.

There was the distraught father who did not know what to do because his son’s school informed him that his son needed glasses but he could not afford them because he had been recently laid off. The father, mother, son and daughter received eye exams and glasses because of this program.

There was also the gentleman that had VSP coverage for years with his employer but once he was laid off he could no longer afford to go to the doctor.  His glasses broke and he had a job interview the next day so he asked if there was anything we could do.  His family was living in a local shelter and he wanted to land this new job so he could get his life back on track.  He received an eye exam and a new pair of glasses and the team helped get his current pair in good enough shape to make it through the interview.

I watched a first-year Berkeley College of Optometry student, who spoke fluent Chinese, spend four hours with an elderly Chinese woman to walk her through the process and explain the importance of the eye exam.  This young woman sat with this patient once her eyes were dilated making sure that she was OK and comfortable. She then spent the time to help the patient select her eyewear. The student helped her off the Mobile Clinic, hugged her and sent her on her way. I went up to the student and told her how touching that was to watch and she said being a first year she knew that there was not much she was able to do in the clinic but she wanted to make a difference. She certainly did!

Since taking the role as the VSP Vision Care president, I have had the opportunity to meet some of our doctors over the last two months and I have found them all inspiring in different ways. It is an absolute privilege that we, the employees of VSP Vision Care, get to come to work each day to support the great profession of independent optometry. Our doctors care about their patients, care about their communities and deeply care about their profession. It is an honor for us to be in a position to help them continue to thrive.

This day left me so motivated and inspired by the VSP Vision Care Team, our doctors and the students. All the values we stand for were so passionately demonstrated—I will never forget this day!

Berkeley College of Optometry students pose in front of SeeLia, a VSP Mobile Eye Clinic

VSP Vision Care president Jim McGrann helps a patient find a local VSP doctor to visit

Performers take the stage at the Stockton Chinese New Year Parade and Festival

The post My day of service with the VSP Mobile Eyes team appeared first on VSP Blog.

VSP provider Earl Malone, OD examines a Mississippi patient in need

The VSP Eye on Diabetes campaign provided more than 200 Mississippians in need with free health services in Biloxi on February 13, including comprehensive eye exams and health risk assessments for diabetes and high blood pressure at the Coastal Family Health Center.

In honor of the campaign, Governor Phil Bryant declared February 9th “Eye on Diabetes Day in Mississippi,” and Biloxi Mayor A.J. Holloway visited the event and declared February 13th “Eye on Diabetes Day in Biloxi.”

“I think this campaign is very important to the community, because if it wasn’t for you (VSP Eye on Diabetes) here, a lot of people probably wouldn’t come and get a diagnosis of what they may not know they have,” said Mayor Holloway. “I think it’s very important and I’m sure the people appreciate you coming here to our community.”

Kim Rankin, VSP, Earl Malone, OD, Angel Greer, Coastal Family Health Center, and Biloxi Mayor A.J. Holloway proclaim "Eye on Diabetes Day in Biloxi"

Mississippi ranks as the second highest state for overall diabetes prevalence. It is estimated that 372,000 Mississippians have been diagnosed with diabetes and more than 100,000 Mississippians have undiagnosed diabetes. Diabetes can lead to serious health consequences, including heart disease, stroke, blindness, kidney disease, amputations, and even death, with the total diabetes related cost in Mississippi estimated to be $1.7 billion per year.

The campaign utilizes the VSP Mobile Eyes program and partners with local VSP network eye doctors, state optometric associations and diabetes associations to provide the free health services. Patients who have or are at risk for diabetes are examined onboard a VSP Mobile Eye Clinic outfitted with state-of-the-art exam rooms, dispensaries and a finishing lab.

“I really am excited about being able to take care of these patients. A lot of these patients don’t know anything about their eyes. They don’t know whether they have cataracts or diabetic retinopathy, so we’re trying to help them see better and give them a better outcome in life,” said VSP Provider Earl Malone, OD, who examined the patients onboard the VSP Mobile Eye Clinic. “The Eye on Diabetes campaign is very important to this community, because the people we serve have no idea of what’s going on with their eyes. Everyone rushed in here this morning, and if we did it again tomorrow we’d have the same result.

Since the campaign’s inception in May 2010, more than 3,200 people have been helped in nine states. Nearly 50 VSP network doctors who have participated in the campaign have identified both serious eye and general health-related conditions in patients. More than 160 people have been referred to a medical professional for additional treatment.

“People need to know about their eye health and their general health because they go hand-in-hand,” added Malone. “If you have diabetes and your blood vessels are starting to leak blood a little bit, one of the first places you see that is in the eye. This could also be happening in the brain, kidneys and liver. It’s important to catch these diseases early because the earlier you catch them, the easier they are to treat. If they’re easier to treat, then you’re going to save this person’s vision and you may even save their life, because you help them become aware of other things they may be having problems with.”

The campaign was created in response to the increasing spread of diabetes across the U.S. with over 25 million Americans diagnosed with the disease and another 79 million who are pre-diabetic or at risk. A lot of consumers are unaware that diabetes can be detected through an annual eye exam and regular exams are an important and cost-effective measure in managing the impact of diabetes.

The VSP Mobile Eye Clinic also visited the Mississippi State Capitol on February 9th as state legislators met with Mississippi optometrists and Mississippi Optometric Association president Reggie Dampier, OD to tour the 45-foot-long clinic.

“We are excited to partner with VSP in bringing the Eye on Diabetes campaign to Mississippi,” said Dampier. “Diabetes is the leading cause of blindness among adults in the U.S., yet 90 percent of all cases of blindness from diabetes can be prevented. Through greater knowledge and understanding, we want to help educate consumers to incorporate positive preventative care behaviors, such as annual eye exams, into their lives.”

Stay tuned to the VSP Blog for updates from the VSP Eye on Diabetes campaign as it rolls on to visit Columbus, OH, Sacramento and Torrance, CA and Pittsburgh, PA in 2012!

WATCH: WLOX ABC13 in Biloxi covers the Eye on Diabetes event 

The post More than 200 Mississippians in need benefit from Eye on Diabetes campaign appeared first on VSP Blog.

Happy Friday, everyone! This week, we’ve been focusing on the importance of eye health using the Kings VSP Vision Tips with our friends from the Sacramento Kings. We posted a Facebook poll on Tuesday asking fans when their last eye exam was, and we were very happy to see that 65% of poll participants have received an eye exam in the past year!

Receiving regular eye exams is a critical component of your health care routine. Learn more fun facts about eyecare by watching these silly Kings VSP Vision Tips today!

The post When was YOUR last eye exam? appeared first on VSP Blog.

Just in time for the season of giving, Sacramento’s FOX affiliate (KTXL) recently aired a special story on Christmas Day about one of the 50,000 Boys & Girls Club members who are receiving the gift of sight from a VSP doctor courtesy of the VSP Eye Pledge campaign. Watch the story here.

To learn more about the VSP Eye Pledge campaign, please click here.

The post Watch a Boys & Girls Club member’s experience of receiving the gift of sight appeared first on VSP Blog.

Kate Renwick-Espinosa, CMO of VSP Global celebrates the VSP Eye Pledge with Sacramento-area Boys & Girls Clubs members

In recognition of the VSP Eye Pledge campaign reaching its goal to provide more than $19.2 million worth of free eye exams and glasses to 50,000 at-risk youth across America, the Boys & Girls Clubs Teichert Branch in Sacramento and VSP Vision Care (VSP) hosted a fun-filled celebration Friday.

Kate Renwick-Espinosa, CMO of VSP Global speaks to Boys & Girls Club members

Karolina Maluga, development manager of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Sacramento was on-hand to receive a giant gift certificate for 50,000 free eye exams and glasses on behalf of Boys & Girls Clubs across the country. Local Boys & Girls Club members also enjoyed an eye-opening tour inside one of VSP’s state-of-the-art, 45-foot mobile eyecare clinics.

In the online campaign that kicked off in mid-August, VSP Vision Care and Boys & Girls Clubs of America partnered to encourage people across the country to visit www.SeeMuchMore.com and take the free VSP Eye Pledge. For each pledge made, a gift certificate for a free eye exam and glasses was directed to a local Club child in need.

VSP Vision Care and the Boys & Girls Clubs of America launched the free campaign to encourage consumers to take care of their vision.

Children from the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Sacramento, Kate Renwick-Espinosa, CMO of VSP Global, Karolina Maluga, Development Director of Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Sacramento and Dave Dess, VP of VSP Vision Care Marketing

The post Boys & Girls Club hosts celebration of 50,000 at-risk youth receiving gift of sight appeared first on VSP Blog.

Boys & Girls Club members will receive free eye exams and glasses thanks to the generosity of the fifty thousand people across the country who took the pledge to not only take care of their eyes, but directed care to a child in need.

Since the VSP Eye Pledge campaign launched in mid-August, more than half of those who pledged opted to direct a free eye exam and glasses to a Club most in need. Pledge-takers also had the option to direct to a child from a local Club in their area.

A special thanks to the individuals in these nine states that helped us receive the majority of our pledges:

• California
• Illinois
• North Carolina
• Georgia
• Texas
• Indiana
• Florida
• New York
• Missouri

Visit SeeMuchMore.com to learn more about the VSP Eye Pledge Campaign and check out the video below to see how your pledges have helped children. Plus, you can still take the VSP Eye Pledge and promise to care for your eyes. Your promise helps support the donation of free eye exams and glasses to those in need and keeps eye health top-of-mind.

Once again, THANK YOU for helping provide the gift of sight to 50,000 Boys and Girls Club members across the country!

The post 50,000 children across America to receive the gift of sight thanks to the VSP Eye Pledge campaign! appeared first on VSP Blog.

Over the past few months, we’ve posted several polls on the VSP Facebook page that have garnered some great results! The polls have helped us learn more about our wonderful VSP members in a fun and engaging way.

In a recent poll VSP members were asked how long it had been since the last time their children had an eye exam. As it turns out, 75% of respondents have taken their children to see a VSP doctor in the past year! And, we would love to see the other 25% of respondents start taking their children in for annual eye exams as well, since more than 60% of children with learning problems have undiagnosed vision problems. And, getting your child an annual eye exam can help them learn, succeed in school, and experience life’s moments clearly. Discover how you can ensure your family gets the eyecare they deserve here.

Another poll asked VSP members when they started wearing glasses. 51% of poll takers started wearing glasses between the ages of 0-15 years old! With so many individuals reaping the benefits of glasses it makes sense that we share the hundreds of stylish eyewear options available for you and your family here. 

The results of a third poll helped us see that members realize the importance of annual eye exams. We asked members when their last comprehensive eye exam was, and 74% of respondents have received one in the past year! Annual eye exams can reveal signs of eye-related and other health conditions, like:

• Diabetic Eye Disease
• Macular Degeneration
• Glaucoma
• Diabetes
• High Blood Pressure
• High Cholesterol
• Multiple Sclerosis
• Risk of stroke
• Risk of heart disease

Check out SeeMuchMore.com for more information on the importance of eye exams and stay tuned to VSP on Facebook for fun ways to learn about the importance of your eye health!

The post The polls are in! appeared first on VSP Blog.