SOUTH VIENNA — The state of Ohio has launched the Ohio-See program to provide children in need with mobile eye exams and prescription glasses directly at their schools. Students at Northeastern Elementary School in South Vienna recently received on-site examinations as part of the initiative.
The state estimates that 14,000 children will be examined through the program this year. The initiative aims to close a significant gap in pediatric vision care, as more than 30,000 Ohio children from kindergarten through third grade fail vision screenings annually without receiving the lenses they need.
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Clark and Montgomery are among 15 counties across the state where the program is currently operational. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine visited the school in South Vienna to officially launch the initiative in the area.
The program is specifically designed to reach students who lack access to traditional vision care. Lance Himes, assistant director of the Ohio Department of Health, said the mobile nature of the service addresses several logistical challenges for families.
This program will remove many of those barriers, including the cost of transportation, which comes directly to the school, so the parents don’t have to take off work to take the kids to an eye doctor,” Himes said.
Himes noted that many rural areas in Ohio do not have easy access to eye doctors. The program brings doctors, opticians, and the glasses themselves directly to the children at their place of learning.
Once the mobile exams are finished and it is determined that a student needs prescription lenses, the van will return to the school at a later date. During that follow-up visit, the children will receive their new glasses to complete the process.
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