About Us

Prevent Blindness North Carolina (PBNC), also known as the North Carolina Society to Prevent Blindness, was organized in 1967 as a nonprofit health agency. An independent affiliate of Prevent Blindness America (established in 1908), PBNC delivers direct service programs designed to preserve sight through screening, publications, safety, education, information and referral through volunteer efforts. PBNC's mission is to reach people before blindness strikes.

Prevent Blindness North Carolina is headquartered in Raleigh and is governed by a statewide Board of Directors, comprised of medical specialists, distinguished business people, civic leaders, and educators. As essential members of PBNC, volunteers carry out programs and services at the state and local levels. Prevent Blindness is part of the National Voluntary Health Agencies of North Carolina, the State Employees Combined Campaign and a member of the Governor's Consumer and Advocacy Commission for the Blind, the NC Center for Nonprofits and the Covenant with North Carolina's Children.

North Carolina Statistics

• Every 11 minutes another person in our nation loses his or her sight. In North Carolina, the statistics are just as alarming:
• 4,000 North Carolina school children, ages 5-19 suffer eye injuries each year.
• 25,614 preschoolers and 349,518 school age children have visual problems.
• 1 in 20 preschool age children in our state suffers from amblyopia. Amblyopia, also known as "lazy eye," is reduced vision in an eye that has not received adequate use during a child's early years. Unless this condition is detected and treated before the child's sixth birthday, lifelong vision damage is likely to occur.
• 66,000 North Carolina adults have glaucoma, yet half do not realize they have this silent disease.
• Last year, North Carolina workers' compensation bills for eye injuries sustained at the work place totaled over $1,000,000. Services for those already blind cost state tax payers over $30 million dollars annually.

Statistics on Age-Related Eye Disease in North Carolina

Prevent Blindness North Carolina
2004-2005 Vision Screening Statistics

• 500,000 public school children were given vision screenings throughout the state.
• 37,000 of those children were referred for follow up eye care. $445,000 worth of eye exams and eye glasses were provided for underprivileged children.
• 34,000 preschoolers were given vision screenings throughout the state.
• 2,800 of those preschoolers were referred for follow up eye care.
• 8,000 adults received vision screenings at health fairs, municipalities and corporate settings.
• 34% of adults were referred for "Direct Service Programs.
• 7,000 volunteer vision screeners were certified.

Direct Service Programs

Kenneth Royall Children's Vision Screening Improvement Program
Currently, Prevent Blindness has trained and certified more than 7,000 volunteer vision screeners. In turn, these screeners screened more than 500,000 public school children in grades K-6 during the 2004-2005 school year. Approximately 37,000 of the children screened were referred to eye care professionals for possible vision problems.

Preschool Photorefractive Vision Screening

Prevent Blindness North Carolina offers photorefractive vision screenings to preschoolers. During the 2004-2005 school year, 34,000 preschoolers were screened in 27 counties. More than 2,800 of these preschoolers were referred to eye care professionals for possible vision problems.

Sight For Students Voucher Program

This program targets "gap" children up to the age of eighteen, or graduation from high school. These are children whose families earn up to 200% of the federal poverty level and do not have Medicaid or other insurance. Services include a free eye exam from one of the participating doctors, as well as glasses. Prevent Blindness distributed vouchers worth $445,000 during the last fiscal year.

Adult Vision Screenings

Prevent Blindness North Carolina conducts adult vision screenings at health fairs, senior centers, corporations, malls, and at the State Fair. More than 8,000 adults are screened annually, of which 34% are referred to eye care professionals for possible vision problems and/or eye disease.

Does your child need glasses?? Free eye exams??

Call 1-800-543-7839 for a Resource Guide from Prevent Blindness North Carolina to find out the latest programs to serve your needs.

Age-related
vision problems
in North Carolina

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