The Monroe Lions Club recently purchased a Spot Vision Screener to assist its mission in helping identify, and in some instances assist, with vision issues in the local community. A Spot Visions Screener is described as “a handheld, portable, ocular screening device designed to help quickly and easily detect vision issues on patients as young as six months.”
According to official information on the equipment, the camera is able to capture a non-invasive image of the eyes and the results can indicate whether the measurements of the eyes are in a range or if a complete eye exam is recommended. With this equipment, the Monroe Lions Club has been able to embark on a project to get all the students in Walton County, initially at the third-grade level, screened.
Last week, students at Harmony Elementary School were given the opportunity to undergo the screening. Monroe Lions Club member Melanie Ann Jackson was one of the volunteers working with the group offering the service. She said this is a major benefit for students in local schools and by extension the whole community.
“It makes vision screening easy for the volunteers and gets results instantly,” Jackson said. “We started with the third-graders in all the elementary schools. With this equipment they can get a visual picture of the children’s eyes and they relay this information to the principals of each school. The parents will then be contacted and notified if their child’s sight is negatively affected in any way. This will prompt them to go to the eye doctor and get the corrections done to enable them to perform in the classroom.”
Jackson said in certain instances, there also could be some funding available for further assistance for some children who may qualify, based on socioeconomic parameters, “such as for an appointment with an eye doctor or for glasses if that is necessary.”
The project by Monroe Lions Club is in the process of being rolled out to Walton County School District’s nine elementary schools and there are plans in the future to hopefully extend it to sixth-grade students as well.
Click or tap on this link for more information on the Spot Vision Screener
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