National Vision Supports Northeast VOSH and SUNY SVOSH Mission to Panama
Last month, Northeast VOSH (Volunteer Optometric Services to Humanity) and the State University of New York (SUNY) College of Optometry SVOSH (Student Volunteer Optometric Services to Humanity) volunteers traveled to Lidice, Panama for a nine day mission. National Vision was able to support this mission trip with a donation of a glasses pack consisting of 300 readers.
Seventy volunteers worked alongside seven optometrists, eight students and four opticians. Together they were able to help over 1,400 people, and distribute 1,000 readers and 1,200 sunglasses. Every patient received, at a minimum, a pair of glasses, and every glaucoma patient received a three month supply of drops.
According to the National Statistics and Census of Panama, Lidice is home to 5,307 residents making their impact to this small town all the more significant; aiding one in four residents with glasses and eye exams.
Testimonial
SUNY SVOSH President, Jason Gebran, says:
“One of our students saw an 85-year-old woman with bilateral dense cataracts. She unfortunately did not qualify for cataract surgery, but our student was able to correct her vision to 20/25 in both eyes with glasses and she was ecstatic.”
More About Northeast VOSH
Northeast VOSH is a non-profit organization of optometrists, medical doctors, nurses, dentists, opticians and other individuals who are dedicated to providing vision and health care to people around the world who cannot otherwise afford or obtain it.
The organization was founded in 1986 by the late Dr. Robert Schwartz as Maryland VOSH. As they grew and evolved, the group was renamed to Northeast VOSH in 1996 to better reflect the geography of its membership.
The organization runs yearly multi-disciplinary health clinics, most often in Central America, consisting of 50 to 70 volunteers who treat thousands of patients.
More About SUNY SVOSH
The SVOSH chapter at SUNY’s College of Optometry is open to all students. Their mission is to facilitate the provision and the sustainability of vision care worldwide for people who can neither afford nor obtain such care.
During weekly meetings students clean donated glasses and lensometry for future mission trips. They also conduct monthly 20/20 visions screening for the underserved NYC community.
On international mission trips, students provide eye exams and prescription glasses to people in developing countries.
Jessica Altamirano
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