Medina Lions Club provides vision screening for students at Oak Orchard

Provided photos: (Left) Medina Lions Club member Don Colquhoun does a vision screening for kindergarten student Cyrus Bloom. (Right) Kindergarten student Willow Brunette gets her eyes checked by a Lions Club member.

Press Release, Medina Central School

MEDINA – Did you know that 80% of all visual impairment can be prevented or cured? The first step to prevention is awareness. The second is early detection through vision screening.

Recently at Oak Orchard Primary School, the Medina Lions Club partnered with medical professionals and community leaders to screen 62 students to identify those at risk for vision loss.

Oak Orchard Principal Jennifer Stearns said that the students were referred by their teachers and all of the kindergarten students had the opportunity to participate as well.

“Eleven students were found to be in need of further evaluation,” she said. “We are thankful to the Lions Club for not only offering this service, but providing families with financial support with the evaluation and a pair of glasses if needed.”

The Lions Club schedules vision screenings every school year and the service is free to the community. Each screening takes approximately five minutes or less and the results are given immediately. Although not a complete eye screening, it indicates when a full ophthalmological evaluation would be beneficial.

Lions KidSight USA Foundation is a nationwide program to safeguard children’s vision, concentrating on children age six months through six years, but screening through grade 12 where possible is acceptable. According to educational experts 80% of learning is visual. So if a child can’t see well, that will make learning more difficult.

The Lions’ vision programs and vision screenings include programs that have, among other things: “Saved the sight of more than 15 million children by providing eye screenings, glasses and other treatments through Sight for Kids.”

Thank you Medina Lions Club for your kindness and concern for our students’ well-being!

Lions Club members, from left, include Tom Beach, Tom Robinson, Carol Bellack and Don Colquhoun. They are shown with Mrs. Fergen’s kindergarten class.