Giving Children the Power of Sight Through Public/Private - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Stephen L. Williams, M.Ed., MPA, Director

Giving Children the Power of Sight Through Public/Private Collaborations & Partnerships

Presented by: Patricia Bledsoe, MBA

• Discuss public-private partnership for

vision services to school age children.

• Discuss the connection between student’s

school performance and resolving vision problems.

• Discuss the importance of service learning
• pportunities.

Objectives

• A collaboration with Houston Health

Department (HHD) with public and private partners to provide free eye exams and glasses to school aged children

• Two programs
• OneSight, a national program
• See to Succeed, the local initiative

Kids Vision Partnership

• A foundation of the Luxottica group
• HHD/OneSight partnership started in

2007

• Provides free eye exams and glasses for

1-2 weeks in Houston (1500-2000 children per week)

OneSight

• 484,846 children screened in Harris and

Fort Bend County schools in 2013-2014*

• 52,562 failed screening*
• 20,332 children with unresolved vision

problems at end of school year*

• *Texas Department of State Health Services Annual Vision Screening

Report 2013-2014 for Region 6 Public Schools

The Need in the Houston Area

• Impaired vision affects ability of children to learn
• 80% of learning in a child’s first 12 years comes

through the eyes

• 25% children in the U.S. have a vision problem, 20%

need glasses

• Among juvenile offenders, 78% have a vision problem
• Prisons forecast beds needed in 10 years based on

3rd grade reading levels

Why Address the Need

90% of Children Who Need Glasses DON’T Have Them

*According to the Optometric Clinical Practice Guideline. Pediatric Eye and Vision Examinations. St. Louis, MO. American Optometric Association 2nd edition, 2002

Meet Alexander

• Alexander is 12 years old and attends a Houston

area Charter school

• He never had glasses before attending See to

Succeed in 6th grade

• Over the summer his glasses were stolen while

he was swimming at his apartment pool. His parents were unable to replace the eye wear and he started 7th grade without his glasses

• His school nurse arranged for him to come to See

to Succeed again in January 2014 after noticing he did not have his glasses any longer

• His grades suffered the first semester of 7th grade

due to his not being able to see the board without straining

Alexander’s Vision

Left Eye Right Eye

http://www.eye-sim.com/

Below is a simulation of Alexander’s non-corrected vision

Corrected

Enormous Short- and Long-Term Impact

BETTER VISION FOR KIDS STRONGER WORKFORCE & ECONOMY INCREASED LITERACY & EDUCATION FEWER SOCIETAL ISSUES

• Create a locally supported initiative to

expand service capacity

• Provide services at a high volume to

address level of need

• Provide free eye exams and glasses to

10,000 school aged children in need

The Director’s Vision

• Assemble resources to expand capacity
• Sell the vision and mission
• Build Relationships
• Provide infrastructure support

Turning the Vision Into Reality

• Provide free eye exams and glasses to

10,000 children per school year

• Replicate OneSight’s high volume service

delivery model which

• Maximizes the number of children served
• Removes barriers of to access to care

The Mission

Funding:

Doctors, Optical Manager, Frames, Lenses, Pretest Manager & Students

Specialized Personnel:

Clinical Director, Optometrists, UH Staff & Students,, Equipment, Supplies

Kid’s Vision Strategic Partnerships Free Lab Work

(10,000 glasses per year)

Build Relationships

Funding:

Doctors, Optical Manager, Frames, Lenses, Pretest Manager & Students

Specialized Personnel:

Clinical Director, Optometrists, UH Staff & Students,, Equipment, Supplies

Free Lab Work (10,000

glasses per year)

HDHHS Stephen Williams ALF Margaret & Joel Shannon Berkley Eye Center San Jacinto College Essilor Vision Foundation NUF Walmart Center HDHHS Stephen Williams University

• f Houston

HDHHS Stephen Williams

Build Relationships for a Purpose

Over 25,000 Glasses Delivered Since 2012

• Established Planning Team
• Created “See to Succeed” Program
• Conducted Pilot Project –

– Spring 2011, – 422 children seen during the week

See to Succeed

• 80 percent of the project resources are

donated from school districts, cities, government agencies, colleges and universities, non-profit organizations and businesses

• $462,000 annual cash cost, $2.3 million in

in-kind services and donated glasses

Organizing & Managing Resources

• Executive sponsors collaborative
• HHD Project Manager & Infrastructure

Support

• Interagency Operations planning team
• Clinics managed with National Incident

Management Structure

Organizing & Managing Resources

• (6) one week See to Succeed clinics per

school year and (1) one week OneSight clinic

• Service capacity expanded from 422 in Spring

2011 in one week to 2000 per week in 2014

• Over 8,000 children examined in 2014-2015

Results

• Improved performance on state academic

assessments *

• Improved attendance rates*
• Prevention of serious eye problems

* http://www.houstonisd.org/cms/lib2/TX01001591/Centricity/Domain/8269/2011_2012% 20One%20Sight%20Evaluation.pdf

Results

• Partnerships with established foundations

such as OneSight

• Support from HHD
• Multiple funding and volunteer sources

Success – Critical Factors

• College and University partnerships uses

service learning with program students

• Business partners that donate staff,

equipment, glasses and other supplies

• Commitment from local school districts

Success – Critical Factors

• Set a vision that can be shared
• Be clear about the mission
• Sell the mission rather than requesting

resources

• Identify partners who share the vision and

commit to the mission

Lessons Learned

• Allow partners to determine where they best

fit

• Provide support from a lead agency to

provide continuity and ongoing coordination

• Be flexible and continuously improve the

process

• Recognize and value the work of each

partners

Lessons Learned

• Consists of organizations who are committed

to providing vision services for children

• Created strategic plan for the Houston area
• Vision: Eye care for every child
• Mission: To provide children in need with the

power of sight for lifelong achievement

The Kids Vision for Life Houston Area Coalition

For More Information Contact Patricia Bledsoe, MBA Patricia.Bledsoe@houstontx.gov 713-449-8937 http://www.houstontx.gov/health/KidsVision/index .html http://houstonhealthfoundation.org