Helping Folks to See Clearly

By Mary-Justine Lanyon

 

It began more than 20 years ago. After Hurricane Katrina, VSP vision insurance partnered with eye doctors in Louisiana who had lost their offices. Through their first mobile clinics, they reached thousands of community members who needed vision care.

Today, VSP Eyes of Hope is prepared to mobilize in case of a disaster – such as the fires in Los Angeles last year – but they also send their teams out to partner with nonprofits and schools and provide vision care at no cost to adults and children who can’t otherwise access that care.

Through a partnership with the Mountains Community Health Foundation, Drs. Gregory Smith and Ana Chang-Smith saw nearly 125 patients in the conference room in the medical office building next to the hospital. The doctors were accompanied by a team of volunteers from VSP.

Patients who had made appointments to be seen by the doctors checked in and then had their eyes measured by a volunteer prior to having their vision tested.

If the doctors determined the patient needed glasses, they were able to pick out frames from a wide variety on display. Those frames and the prescription were then taken out to the lab in the mobile clinic, which was outside in the parking lot.

This particular clinic, called Einstein, was driven up the mountain by Christina, a commercial school bus driver. She was trained by VSP to makes the glasses on the spot.

Christina first selected the lenses from a drawer full of the various prescriptions. She put the frames in a machine that traced the inside of the frames, traced those shapes on the lenses and then cut the lenses in the correct shapes. The final step was for Christina to pop the lenses into the frames.

A total of 40 patients received their single-vision glasses on the same day as their eye exams. Another 74 prescriptions were sent to VSP’s lab in Ohio; those glasses with more complicated prescriptions will be sent back to MCH in about two weeks for the patients to pick up.

While the examinations at MCH were conducted in the medical office building, they can be conducted in the mobile clinic. It is essentially an eye doctor’s office on wheels with an eye exam room equipped with portable equipment, a selection of frames and the equipment like Christina used to make the glasses onboard.

Dr. Smith and Dr. Chang-Smith are part-time residents of Lake Arrowhead. They own and operate EyeGen Vision Center in Huntington Beach. Both are deeply committed to improving access to quality eye care in the communities they serve.

“Their generosity exemplifies the spirit of philanthropy and community partnership that strengthens MCH,” said Kim McGuire, the MCH Foundation executive director. “By sharing their expertise and donating their time, they are helping ensure that our neighbors have access to essential vision care that can improve health, independence and quality of life.”