New England College of Optometry Partners To Present Vision Clinics And Free Eyeglasses For Kids In Need

The New England College of Optometry recently partnered with Transitions Optical and VSP Vision Care to present programs in three Greater Boston communities designed to protect and improve the vision of local children.

Two 40-foot, state-of-the-art, mobile vision clinics -- New England Eye On-Sight and Eyenstein --  visited The Freshman Academy at Lowell High School, The Jordan Boys & Girls Club of Chelsea and The Mather School in Dorchester to provide kids with eye exams and if needed, free prescription eyeglasses.  The program underscores the importance of healthy, enhanced vision as a key component in developing the skills necessary to achieve a brighter future.  

New England Eye, the nationally recognized patient care and clinical subsidiary of the New England College of Optometry, provides comprehensive vision care to children, older adults, the homeless and individuals with disabilities through its mobile eye clinic.  In addition to delivering essential eye care to students at both Perkins School for the Blind and the Cotting School, New England Eye is responsible for more than 85,000 patient visits annually in 45 local satellite locations, including 80 percent of Boston's community health centers.

Transitions Optical partnered with VSP Vision Care, a vision insurance company, to develop the mobile eye care clinic named Eyenstein.  The mobile clinic travels throughout the country, providing comprehensive eye exams and glasses fitted with Transitions lenses to children in need.  Since the inception of Eyenstein in 2010, more than 5,500 individuals nationwide have received comprehensive eye exams onboard the clinic and approximately 4,200 received free eyeglasses with Transitions lenses.  

The VSP Mobile Eye program began as an extension of relief efforts following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005 and now consists of three mobile eye care clinics which respond to disasters and assist people in need in communities throughout the United States.

The three mobile clinics were coordinated by Dr. Gary Chu, Associate Professor of Optometry at New England College of Optometry and Vice President of Community Collaborations for New England Eye. 

Each day, youngsters filed in and out of the two vans to receive their eye examinations from a dozen local optometrists, residents and New England College of Optometry students who volunteered their time along with staffers from Transitions Optical and VSP Vision Care. 

Those who required glasses re-boarded Eyenstein where they had their choice of more than 100 eyeglass frames, which were fitted immediately with customized Transitions adaptive lenses.  Adding to the educational experience, the kids were invited to watch the process of the lenses being made.  

Founded in 1894 in Boston's Back Bay, the New England College of Optometry ranks as one of the oldest continuous programs of optometric education in the United States.  The College is also a preeminent educator of primary eye care leaders around the world; provides eye care for more than 700,000 veterans through its partnership with the VA Boston Healthcare System; and has trained optometrists working in 49 states and Puerto Rico.