Americans are living longer than ever before. On average, life expectancy in the United States is nearly 79 years (Center for Disease Control, 2004 estimate), compared to 49 years a century ago. Age-related eye diseases pose a real threat to self-sufficiency and independence for seniors. As people age, maintaining the quality of life can become a source of anxiety and concern.
Prevent Blindness Wisconsin volunteers offer free adult vision screenings at many community centers, senior living facilities, health fairs, food pantries, churches, and corporations. Because a vision screening does not replace a complete eye examination, Prevent Blindness Wisconsin recommends that older adults have regular, professional eye exams, even if they have no signs of vision problems. The earlier signs of adult eye diseases are detected, the better the chances are of preserving sight.
Prevent Blindness Wisconsin’s Current Comprehensive Adult Vision Project
Prevent Blindness Wisconsin has developed a new approach to its Adult Vision Loss Prevention Program. In order to craft an efficient and effective system of screening, referring and follow up for this population, Prevent Blindness Wisconsin is forming collaborative initiatives and relationships with agencies and government departments that already provided services to at risk adults.
PBW identifies partners, trains and certifies their staff as adult vision screeners. The partners are also trained to do follow up on referrals. The goal is to develop the type of capacity in our adult screenings that we have in our preschool and school age vision screenings.
Forming partnerships with agencies and government departments enables Prevent Blindness Wisconsin to utilize the structure and staff of these organizations to set up screening programs for those already being served by the agencies and departments. With the assistance of doctors, nurses, social workers, case managers and volunteers working with these agencies and departments, Prevent Blindness Wisconsin can utilize their infrastructure to increase the number of vision screenings, and to increase the number of referrals that result in eye examinations and treatment.
The project also continued to incorporate public education efforts to make the target population aware of vital vision health issues.
Learn about Diseases affecting Adult Eye Sight
For information about Adult Vision Screenings near you or for more information about growing older with good vision, contact Prevent Blindness Wisconsin at info@preventblindnesswisconsin.org or (414) 765-0505.
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