Newsroom
11-15-2002, 12:18 AM
TRANSITIONS OPTICAL REPRESENTATIVE JOINS
VOLUNTEER OPTOMETRIC SERVICES TO HUMANITY MISSION TO MOROCCO
Team of Volunteers Performed Eye Exams, Distributed Free Eyewear
PINELLAS PARK, Fla., Nov. 14, 2002 – A representative from Transitions Optical, Inc. joined the Illinois chapter of Volunteer Optometric Services to Humanity (VOSH) in a recent mission to Casablanca, Morocco, to bring better vision care to a community with little or no access to it. Transitions was proud of the participation of Donna Vernier, the company’s Midwest account manager and a licensed optician. Vernier and the team assisted approximately 2,400 patients Oct. 10-21 and provided complimentary eyewear for more than 2,200 people.
The corps of volunteers set up an eye exam center in Bensmick, one of the poorest areas of Casablanca, to administer exams to people of all ages – from children receiving vision correction for the first time to the elderly who never had received it either.
“The mission was an incredible success,” said Vernier. “It was wonderful and very satisfying to provide critical vision care to people who are in desperate need of it.” Vernier has participated in missions trip to Ecuador and Mexico as well.
The team worked out of Bensmick’s cultural center, where busloads of children were brought in every day to receive care. Assisting VOSH in translation were 40 English literature students from a local university. Two doctors handled all of the low vision cases, and saw prescriptions that were off the scopes with very high minuses and high pluses. The exams revealed patients with scarred corneas, Duane’s syndrome, exophthalmoses, cataracts, aniraida, retinitis pigmentosa and rare congenital diseases.
“I saw a 13 year-old girl come in with Grebe syndrome, a rare disease where the child is born with no arms and legs,” Vernier said. “She had a prescription of –13.00 and smiled widely when we put new glasses on her face.”
The VOSH volunteers received shows of gratitude from the governor of Bensmick, Princess Lamia Solh and U.S. Ambassador Margaret Tutwiler, who visited the mission site. Before leaving, the team met with the Chief of Ophthalmologists of Casablanca to ensure proper follow-up, and visited the School of Opticianary/Optometry.
VOSH, an international organization established in 1972, consists of 44 chapters that rely on the volunteer services of optometrists, opticians, ophthalmologists, medical personnel and trained laypersons to provide eye care in underdeveloped countries.
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Donna Vernier, Midwest account manager, Transitions Optical, Inc., was among 30 volunteers who offered vision care to approximately 2,400 people in Casablanca, Morocco, Oct. 10-21, 2002 under a mission trip by the Illinois chapter of Volunteer Optometric Services to Humanity. The volunteers supplied more than 2,200 donated pairs of eyewear.
VOLUNTEER OPTOMETRIC SERVICES TO HUMANITY MISSION TO MOROCCO
Team of Volunteers Performed Eye Exams, Distributed Free Eyewear
PINELLAS PARK, Fla., Nov. 14, 2002 – A representative from Transitions Optical, Inc. joined the Illinois chapter of Volunteer Optometric Services to Humanity (VOSH) in a recent mission to Casablanca, Morocco, to bring better vision care to a community with little or no access to it. Transitions was proud of the participation of Donna Vernier, the company’s Midwest account manager and a licensed optician. Vernier and the team assisted approximately 2,400 patients Oct. 10-21 and provided complimentary eyewear for more than 2,200 people.
The corps of volunteers set up an eye exam center in Bensmick, one of the poorest areas of Casablanca, to administer exams to people of all ages – from children receiving vision correction for the first time to the elderly who never had received it either.
“The mission was an incredible success,” said Vernier. “It was wonderful and very satisfying to provide critical vision care to people who are in desperate need of it.” Vernier has participated in missions trip to Ecuador and Mexico as well.
The team worked out of Bensmick’s cultural center, where busloads of children were brought in every day to receive care. Assisting VOSH in translation were 40 English literature students from a local university. Two doctors handled all of the low vision cases, and saw prescriptions that were off the scopes with very high minuses and high pluses. The exams revealed patients with scarred corneas, Duane’s syndrome, exophthalmoses, cataracts, aniraida, retinitis pigmentosa and rare congenital diseases.
“I saw a 13 year-old girl come in with Grebe syndrome, a rare disease where the child is born with no arms and legs,” Vernier said. “She had a prescription of –13.00 and smiled widely when we put new glasses on her face.”
The VOSH volunteers received shows of gratitude from the governor of Bensmick, Princess Lamia Solh and U.S. Ambassador Margaret Tutwiler, who visited the mission site. Before leaving, the team met with the Chief of Ophthalmologists of Casablanca to ensure proper follow-up, and visited the School of Opticianary/Optometry.
VOSH, an international organization established in 1972, consists of 44 chapters that rely on the volunteer services of optometrists, opticians, ophthalmologists, medical personnel and trained laypersons to provide eye care in underdeveloped countries.
# # #
Donna Vernier, Midwest account manager, Transitions Optical, Inc., was among 30 volunteers who offered vision care to approximately 2,400 people in Casablanca, Morocco, Oct. 10-21, 2002 under a mission trip by the Illinois chapter of Volunteer Optometric Services to Humanity. The volunteers supplied more than 2,200 donated pairs of eyewear.