Liberty Sport and Prevent Blindness are honoring 12 leading eye care practices in the United States as “Sports Eye Injury Prevention Center of the Year” award winners.
Recipients were chosen for their strides in growing awareness of, and contributing to, the reduction of sports-related eye injuries within their respective communities.
Every year, thousands of adults and children sustain eye injuries in a variety of sports. Since 2010, the groups have joined together for the “Sports Eye Injury Prevention Awareness Month” program every September, in an effort to educate the public on the importance of wearing proper eye protection while playing sports. The program provides eye care professionals with free materials including graphics and printed pieces for distribution.
The 2015 “Sports Eye Injury Prevention Center of the Year” award winners are:
- Accurate Eye Care of Manalapan, NJ
- Belill Eyecare of Clio, MI
- Buena Vista Optical of Chicago, IL
- Envision Optics of Brooklyn, NY
- Frontier Family Vision of Naperville, IL
- Heffington Optical of Springfield, MO
- Hero Management of Colorado Springs, CO
- Linden Optometry of Pasadena, CA
- Pediatric Eyecare of Overland Park, KS
- University Optical of Omaha, NE
- Young Eyes of Baltimore, MD
- Your Eyes of New Britain, CT
Each of the Sports Eye Injury Prevention Center practices will receive a plaque proclaiming them as a winner of the 2015 Sports Eye Injury Prevention Center of the Year award, along with various other incentives congratulating them on their effort.
“We commend them for their commitment to the cause of reducing the number of sports related eye injuries and saving the eyesight of our children,” said Anthony DiChiara, president and CEO of Liberty Sport.
“The effects of an eye injury can last a lifetime. By consistently wearing the proper eye protection while playing any sport, we can keep our eyes and vision healthy for years to come,” said Hugh R. Parry, president and CEO of Prevent Blindness. “We congratulate all of this year’s winners for their dedication to saving sight and encourage other practices to join our program!”
For more information about the Sports Eye Injury Prevention Center of the Year award, the Sports Eye Injury Prevention Awareness Month program, or to request a kit, please contact John Minnick, Liberty Sport at 973-882-0986, ext. 977 or jminnick@libertysport.com. For more information on sports eye injury prevention and information on sport-specific eye protection recommendations, please call Prevent Blindness at (800) 331-2020, or visitpreventblindness.org/sports-eye-safety.