U.S. Representative Mike Turner reads to children during an eye health and safety education display at the Wilmington Public Library. Turner also serves on the Congressional Vision Caucus which supports legislation for vision issues.
COLUMBUS - To stress the importance of good eye health and safety to children, U.S. Congressman Michael Turner read to children during a Wild About Eyes educational kiosk at the Wilmington Public Library August 1. Vision problems affect one in four school-age children and one in twenty preschoolers.
"Education and regularly scheduled vision care appointments for children are important," said U.S. Representative Mike Turner (R-OH-3). "Programs like these help ensure that our children have a good start."
Rep. Turner also supports vision issues on Capitol Hill. As a member of the Congressional Vision Caucus, he supports the Vision Preservation Act which would further the expansion of federal vision programs to improve Americans' visual health through prevention, early detection, treatment and rehabilitation. The CVC is a bipartisan coalition of Members of Congress dedicated to strengthening and stimulating a national dialogue and policy on vision-related problems and disabilities.
Good vision is critical to learning. About 21 percent of preschool-aged children have their vision screened and only an estimated 14 percent of children receive comprehensive vision exams before entering kindergarten or first grade.
The Wild About Eyes kiosk provides four learning stations providing hands-on, interactive vision experiences for children and adults. Using bowling balls, hand held paddles that simulate eye diseases and an eye safety matching game, the kiosk lets participants see for themselves how the eye works.
U.S. Representative Mike Turner reads to children during an eye health and safety education display at the Wilmington Public Library. Turner also serves on the Congressional Vision Caucus which supports legislation for vision issues.
Wild About Eyes was developed by Prevent Blindness Ohio and the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery in Dayton. It is funded by the Ohio Department of Health, Bureau of Child and Family Health Services and the Save Our Sight Program. The Save Our Sight Fund is supported by $1 donations at the time of vehicle registration to support eye health and safety programs for kids www.saveoursight.org.
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Prevent Blindness Ohio, founded in 1957, is Ohio’s leading volunteer, nonprofit public health organization dedicated to preventing blindness and preserving sight. It serves all 88 Ohio counties, providing direct services to more than 600,000 Ohioans annually and educating millions of consumers about what they can do to protect and preserve their precious gift of sight. Prevent Blindness Ohio is an affiliate of Prevent Blindness America, the country’s second-oldest national voluntary health organization. For more information or to make a contribution, visit our website at www.pbohio.org or call 800-301-2020.
