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Amid a rise in children lacking access to vision care through Medi-Cal, a coalition of various San Benito County health and educational organizations, children’s advocacy groups and school district officials united with local optometrists and VSP Eyes of Hope for the inaugural Children’s Vision Project event to give vision care for children in the Aromas-San Juan Unified School District.
Two events were held last month including April 21 at Aromas School and April 22 at San Juan School for students to receive free vision care, treatment and prescription glasses if needed. The plan is to hold Children’s Vision Project annually, local officials say.
For more than 20 years, VSP has developed various mobile units, partnering with optometrists to travel across the country to provide comprehensive vision testing and prescription glasses to pre-screened students at local schools and in communities in need.
VSP Mobile Clinics site manager Torrey Tripette said her greatest joy in her work is helping people see. She said the opportunity to be able to offer “the gift of sight” by providing free access to prescription glasses and having the chance to see people’s “eyes just light up, and say, ‘Oh wow, so this is what the world looks like,’” is the highlight of her career.
In San Benito County, a coalition of local organizations including First 5 San Benito, the San Benito County Office of Education, San Benito Public Health and the Aromas-San Juan Unified School District partnered with VSP to pre-screen more than 160 students for for eye exams, whereby all students in need of prescription glasses would receive them at no cost.
According to assistant San Benito County Office of Education superintendent Gwen Baquiran, a majority of students will receive their glasses within the same day, made by the equipment brought on site.
Children’s Vision Project’s leading optometrist, Dr. David Rothman, who has also served as chair of First 5 San Benito for 15 years, said, “Our big vision: kids have vision care before starting school. If you don’t read by third grade, you’re more likely to be unsuccessful in learning. Eighty percent of learning comes through vision. We have to bring eye care to the forefront for kids to have the best experiences.”
VSP leaders, along with the participating optometrists from the events held at Aromas and San Juan schools said that the goal of reaching near 200 students was successful, with 175 kids being screened and 30% referred.
Redman’s primary mission, he said, goes beyond nonprofit organizing within communities. His long-term goal is to bring legislation to Sacramento to address the declining access to vision care for children in California through support of the Assembly Bill 2756, the children’s vision bill. According to Redman, 16% of Medi-Cal recipients are children and only 16% of them receive eye-exams; 40% of those who are tested get glasses.
Redman said lacking access to vision care not only impedes children’s academic performance and success, but impacts their confidence, potentially leading to behavioral issues. It can also lead to students being misdirected to individualized education programs or given attention deficit hyperactive disorder treatments instead of treating the vision issues they may need.
Vision problems that don’t receive care and treatment can hide other health conditions, which could also be diagnosed through eye exams. These include hypertension, brain tumors, diabetes or cancer in the eyes.
Baquiran said the Children’s Vision Project was brought to San Benito schools to “remove barriers to learning so students aren’t falling through the cracks when reading.” She said the goal is to implement required vision screening for all schools through statewide legislation requiring all kids to be tested before starting school.
“For some of our students, this may be their only access to vision services this year,
Baquiran said. “When we bring services directly to students, we are not just improving eyesight but we are opening the door to confidence, engagement and academic success.”
Baquiran provided data indicating 20-25% of students from TK to eighth grade need comprehensive testing and said that prescriptions could change every year.
She said it’s life-changing when kids gain access to clear vision and it’s important for education, sports, safety and self-confidence.
As First 5 board member and San Benito County Supervisor Mindy Sotelo said, the Children’s Vision Project is “the first step in paving the way on how to work together as a community to provide access to vision care and free resources for every student.”
The BenitoLink Internship Program is a paid, skill-building program that prepares local youth for a professional career. This program is supported by the Monterey Peninsula Foundation AT&T Golf Tour and Taylor Farms.
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