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August is Children’s Eye Health and Safety Month, and Beyond Blindness – a local nonprofit dedicated to serving children with visual impairments and other disabilities and their families – has received a $15,000 grant from the Ueberroth Family Foundation, based in Newport Beach
The grant was awarded earlier this summer and has made possible the purchase, installation and activation of an optometry lane exam station at Beyond Blindness’ facility in Santa Ana.
The exam lane is a comprehensive site where patients have their vision checked by ophthalmic professionals. Exam lanes include equipment and instruments to diagnose various conditions, prescribe corrective lenses for patients, and give detailed, descriptive reports that improve the ease of diagnosis while reducing the margin of error. These pieces range from the seat where patients sit for the exam to the slit lamp, visual acuity system, and more equipment designed to measure and test parts of the eye.
The new optometry lane exam station will allow Beyond Blindness to offer eye exams to a larger number of pediatric clients in an expanded range of ages. This is critical as Beyond Blindness, in alignment with prevailing scientific and medical studies, places a strong focus on early intervention for children with visual impairments and other disabilities.
This approach has been found to be most effective in maximizing and preserving sight and will help ensure that children with visual impairments (including full blindness) receive the right support to live their fullest, most rewarding lives.
“For three decades, the Ueberroth Family Foundation has been assisting community-based organizations, like Beyond Blindness, that are effectively making a difference,” said Newport Coast resident Vicki Ueberroth Booth, president of the foundation. “Our grant funding the new optometry lane exam station at Beyond Blindness will help ensure that children with visual impairments are diagnosed earlier and early intervention is key to maximizing and preserving eyesight.”
For more information, visit www.BeyondBlindness.org.
