AOA, vision partners host largest-ever low vision and vision rehab briefing on Capitol Hill
August 20, 2010
Rep. John Boozman, O.D. (R-Ark.) delivers closing remarks for the July 14 VA Low Vision and Vision Rehab briefing on Capitol Hill. Seated in the background is keynote speaker Michael Fischer, O.D., chief of Optometry at the Northport Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Long Island, N.Y.
Rep. John Boozman, O.D. (R-Ark.) was joined by nearly 100 other members of Congress, congressional staffers and a range of health care policy guests for what turned out to be the largest-ever single optometry-led briefing aimed at helping bring further attention to the increasing need for low vision and vision rehabilitation services among America’s veterans as well as the general public.
The July 14 event was titled “Low Vision and Vision Rehabilitation: A Growing Need” and featured an introduction by Mark Ackermann, president and CEO of Lighthouse International; a welcome address by Rep. Gene Greene (D-Texas), co-chair of the Congressional Vision Caucus; a keynote presentation by Michael Fischer, O.D., chief of Optometry Service at the Northport Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC), Long Island, N.Y.; and finally, closing remarks by Congressman John Boozman, O.D., also a member of the Congressional Vision Caucus and the only optometrist currently serving in Congress.
During his keynote address, Dr. Fischer, who is a member of the AOA Vision Rehabilitation Section, highlighted some of the major causes of low vision in adults, namely age-related macular degeneration (AMD), diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma and cataracts.
In low vision cases, these diseases impair an individual’s ability to perform even the simplest daily tasks, many of which are things most Americans generally take for granted.
Dr. Fischer also emphasized the increasing demand for low vision rehabilitation services in an aging population, pointing out that AMD is the leading cause of vision impairment in people older than 55 in the United States.
Providers of low vision and vision rehabilitation services include vision rehabilitation agencies, low vision clinics at schools and colleges of optometry, independent practitioners (ODs, MDs, OTs, VRTs, etc.), as well as the Department of Veterans Affairs, (VA) Veterans Health Administration, which has intermediate and advanced low vision centers, blind rehabilitation centers, as well as special programs.
Dr. Fischer noted that the VA, in particular, recognizes the importance of providing blind and low vision rehabilitation care for the nation’s veterans.
By 2011, the VA estimates that there will be nearly 1 million severely visually impaired veterans.
The VA Optometry Service, which employs more than 600 optometrists, now provides the majority of primary eye care and is now responsible for fully two-thirds of all VA primary eye care services.
VA optometrists also offer a wide variety of services along the continuum of care, accounting for 95 percent of all low vision care, and play a leading role in key sight-saving and rehabilitative initiatives such as the Visual Impairment Centers to Optimize Remaining Sight (VICTORS) programs and Blind Rehabilitation Centers (BRCs).
A range of low vision devices may be prescribed for the visually impaired veteran, including specialized lens designs and prescriptions, special prismatic eyeglasses and electronic devices such as closed circuit television, and head-mounted displays.
In his closing remarks, Rep. Boozman thanked the VA Optometry Service and all those dedicated to the care of low vision and blinded Americans, including blind and visually impaired veterans.
He also noted that many VA optometrists are actively involved in research on vision loss and vision rehabilitation, and some are renowned national leaders and educators in the field of low vision rehabilitation.
Joining the AOA in hosting the well-attended event were a number of the AOA’s vision community partners, including the Alliance for Eye and Vision Research (AEVR), American Foundation for the Blind (AFB), American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO), Envision, Prevent Blindness America (PBA), and VisionServe Alliance.
For more information about the AOA Vision Rehabilitation Section, visit www.aoa.org/vrs.xml.
