Experts Eye Advances in Children's Vision Care
Federal, State and Local Thought-Leaders Gather at First-Ever
Vision Summit
Washington, D.C. (April 4, 2007) ’Äì
Leading researchers and experts convened today in an unprecedented
summit on children's vision health. The Vision Summit, held
on the heels of recently introduced federal children's vision
legislation, provided a unique opportunity for vision health
advocates to review the national research and state-based programs
to enhance vision care for children.
Despite the fact that visual impairment can lead to lifelong
vision loss, two in three children do not receive any preventive
vision care before starting elementary school. What's more, almost
a third of students never receive an eye exam before graduating
high school.
The Better Vision Institute (BVI), a group composed of ophthalmologists,
optometrists and opticians, used its first-ever Vision Summit
to address this issue by reviewing the latest data, best practices
for vision screenings and eye exams, and the effectiveness of
different state policy models to provide children's vision care.
"The Vision Summit is a ’Äòmeeting of the minds' for children's
vision health," said Cathy Doty, OD, a pediatric optometrist
and immediate past-chairman of the BVI. "Our goal was to bring
cross-disciplinary thought leaders together to objectively assess
where we currently stand and to plan for how we can improve the
vision care system for future generations."
Attendees at the Summit included representatives from the vision,
healthcare and education fields. Speakers from the National Eye
Institute shared current research at the national level with
attendees, including highlights from the Vision in Preschoolers
Study ’Äì a clinical study to assess the accuracy of multiple vision
screening tests. Additionally, representatives from the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention reviewed research on visual
impairment and the use of eyecare services among children.
On the state level, experts discussed implementation of recently
enacted children's vision care policy. Since 1999, seven states
have passed legislation to increase the number of children who
receive vision care. Speakers from five of these states provided
"lessons learned" on their individual states policy, ranging
from vision problem identification to treatment protocols.
Children's vision care will remain a priority in Washington,
D.C. With bipartisan support, The House of Representatives introduced
the "Vision Care for Kids Act of 2007" in January to treat vision
problems in children, as well as to educate Americans about healthy
vision. The Senate complement of the bill will be introduced
in April.
"By taking a look at children's vision
care from both a national and state level, we can provide Summit
attendees with the full picture of what is going on to improve
the current system," said Doty. "We hope that Summit attendees
will leave Washington with new tools, resources and contacts
to help them in their efforts to improve children's vision
health."
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