(PRESS RELEASE) CHICAGO – The National Center for Children’s Vision and Eye Health at Prevent Blindness is celebrating its 10-year anniversary by announcing the first partners of its “Better Vision Together – Community of Practice” program. The goal of this three-year project is to improve vision and eye health in at-risk, minority and vulnerable populations of young children.
NCCVEH will work with selected groups to implement actions and solutions anchored in population health strategies through a peer-support approach, including policy change, systems of vision and eye health, public awareness and data collection. Eight groups from across the country were selected to work with the federal Health Resources and Services Administration’s Maternal and Child Health Bureau-funded project led by the NCCVEH.
Selected community/state teams include:
- Overgaard Ponderosa Vision Screening Program, Overgaard Ponderosa Lions Club and Foundation- Overgaard, AZ.
- Eyes on Learning, Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust- Phoenix, AZ.
- Better Vision Together San Francisco, University of California, San Francisco – San Francisco, CA.
- Amblyopia Elimination Project, Naples Lions Club Foundation – Naples, FL.
- Eyedaho Vision Team, Idaho Educational Services for the Deaf and Blind – Gooding, ID.
- Haverhill Promise of Children’s Vision, Haverhill Public Schools and Haverhill Promise – Haverhill, MA.
- Improving Childhood Vision Health Task Force, Minneapolis Public Schools Office of Early Childhood Education – Minneapolis, MN.
- Texas Children’s Vision Coalition, Prevent Blindness Texas – Houston, TX.
At-risk, minority and vulnerable children ages birth through 5 years are targeted for improved children’s vision care systems. The selected teams work with children and families from African American, Hispanic, Asian and Native American communities in rural and urban areas as well as American Indian reservations. Additionally, several teams will serve immigrants and refugees from such countries as Iraq, Congo, Burma, Somalia, Afghanistan and Laos as well as migrant agricultural worker families.
In 2009, NCCVEH was established to develop a coordinated public health infrastructure to promote and ensure a comprehensive, multi-tiered continuum of vision care for young children. NCCVEH continues to work with leading, volunteer advocates and professionals in ophthalmology, optometry, pediatrics, public health and related fields, to review the current scientific literature, explore best practices, establish partnerships, develop data and gain consensus on the best approach to children’s vision and eye health.
Better Vision Together is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant number H7MMC24738. The total award amount for the “Vision Screening in Young Children” grant is $299,999 (percentage financed with nongovernmental sources .5%). This information or content and conclusions are those of the NCCVEH and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government.
“Through the new Better Vision Together- Community of Practice program, we can continue our mission to provide our children with the best opportunities for healthy vision, school readiness and more,” said Jeff Todd, president and CEO of Prevent Blindness. “Our team is eager to work closely with all of our new partners to determine the most effective ways to improve vision services and hopefully expand and apply the best practices to all children across the country.”
For more information about the National Center for Children’s Vision and Eye Health at Prevent Blindness, or the Better Vision Together – Community of Practice program, visit https://nationalcenter.preventblindness.org/better-vision-together or contact Donna Fishman at or (800) 331-2020 or dfishman@preventblindness.org.