Kike Hernández ‘Deserve[s] More’
The AOA has announced a partnership with professional baseball player Kike Hernández to champion in-person comprehensive care from an optometrist. The partnership is part of AOA’s multi-year Eye Deserve More campaign that encourages Americans to prioritize maintaining their eye health as an essential part of their health and wellbeing. “From the quality of our bats to the software we use to analyze our swing, athletes rely on the best tools to perform. But I learned the hard way that the most advanced equipment I own are my eyes,” said Kike Hernández. “Last year, I was struggling at the plate and trying everything to improve, I knew something wasn’t right. After being encouraged to see an optometrist in-person, I was diagnosed with astigmatism. After working with my optometrist, I was able to turn my season around and help my team win.” seetheeye.com
New Toddler Eye Test
The University of Waterloo’s School of Optometry & Vision Science has created the Waterloo Differential Acuity Test (WatDAT), a new method for measuring vision precisely in younger toddlers. As children under 3 struggle with the precise tests used for older children, the development of this new tool could mean more children receive treatment for vision difficulties earlier, leading to positive effects on learning and development. WatDAT shows children four shapes, three of which are identical, such as a house among three circles. The tester asks them to point out the one that is different. This exercise is done at progressively smaller sizes until the child can no longer do it. uwaterloo.ca/news/media/better-vision-test-toddlers
OD School Applications Boom
The Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry (ASCO) has reported that for the second year in a row its U.S. institutions received the highest number of applicants ever during the 2024-25 OptomCAS application cycle. Optometric institutions collectively saw 2,897 applicants; the previous highest number of applicants was 2,868 in 2023-24. The average number of applications per applicant was 4.33; the median age of applicants was 22 — 73% female and 26% male — and the breakdown of ethnicity was 42% White, 31% Asian, 13% Spanish/Hispanic/Latino/Latina, 5% Black/African-American, 4% two or more races, and less than 1% American Indian/Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander. optomcas.org
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