Also serving the communities of De Luz, Rainbow, Camp Pendleton, Pala and Pauma

Lions Clubs do vision screening at Live Oak and La Paloma elementary schools

SAN MARCOS – San Marcos Lions and San Diego North County Lions clubs will do vision screening at two elementary schools in Fallbrook, at Live Oak Nov. 27, and La Paloma Nov. 30. The Lions Clubs have a memo of understanding in partnering with the Fallbrook Unified Elementary School District for vision screening.

Vision screenings are provided by “certified screeners” Norm MacKenzie, immediate past president, San Marcos Lions Club and president John Ruiz, San Diego North County Lions Club.

“The actual screenings take less than a minute per child utilizing the Welch Allyn Spot and PlusOptix Vision Screeners. In addition, the two Lions train volunteers on how to use the screening devices. Community members are invited to attend and view the screening process that saves the school district hours and days of screening.

The devices used screen for six conditions:

Astigmatism – a condition in which the cornea has an abnormal curve causing out-of-focus vision.

Myopia – “Near-Sightedness” is when the eyes focus incorrectly, making distant objects appear blurred. It can be treated with glasses.

Hyperopia – “Far-Sightedness” is the difficulty seeing objects that are near. Untreated this can contribute to “crossing of the eyes” but can be corrected with glasses.

Anisometropia – This condition can adversely affect the development of binocular vision in infants and children. The brain will often suppress the vision of the blurrier eye in a condition called Amblyopia or “lazy eye.”

Strabismus – Eyes are not directed to an object simultaneously. Sometimes the eyes deviate outward and sometimes inward.

The individual screening takes less than a minute, sometimes only seconds from a distance of 3 feet. There is no physical contact and no eye drops are administered. The equipment provides a print-out of the results for each individual which is given to the school to disseminate to parents of children needing further testing.

It is important to understand that this is only a screening and does not constitute an examination or diagnosis of vision problems. It provides eye professionals a starting point.

The service is offered free of charge by the Lions of San Diego and Imperial counties under the Lions Eye Health Program administered by KidSight USA, a nationwide Lions Clubs International program.

Members of the community and Chamber of Commerce are invited to observe what Lions do and explore opportunities to form a club in Fallbrook to facilitate this free community service.

For more information on the screening event or to learn more about the San Marcos Lions and San Diego North County Lions Clubs and its service projects, contact President John Ruiz at (760) 212-1220 or Norm MacKenzie at (760) 802-6018, or visit lionsclubs.org.

 

Reader Comments(0)

 
 
Rendered 03/29/2024 04:38