Lea Hyvarinen, MD, was at the Good-Lite office in Elgin, IL, last week. During her busy visit, she lectured at the Illinois College of Optometry (ICO). Good-Lite thanks Sandy Block, OD, Associate Dean at ICO, for arranging the lecture. Dominick Maino, OD, Professor of Optometry at ICO, made good use of his cell phone and posted a portion of Dr. Lea’s lecture on YouTube. Dr. Lea Hyvarinen on YouTube
With billions of dollars going to children enrolled in CHIP (Community HOME Investment Program), now would be a GREAT time to update your preschool vision screening material.
Date: June 19, 2009
For Release: Immediately
Contact: HHS Press Office
(202) 690-6343
Headline: HHSSecretary Sebelius Announces Release of $6 Billion in New CHIP Funds to Insure Children
HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today announced that $6 billion in new federal funds will be made available to states and U.S. territories for fiscal year 2009 to provide health care to millions of children across America through their Children’s Health Insurance Programs (CHIP).
The new funds for CHIP were made available by the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 (CHIPRA), which was signed into law by President Barack Obama on February 4. CHIPRA provides additional funding that will help states and territories maintain existing CHIP enrollment and expand their programs.
PMID: 19417714 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
This is the Abstract:
The Vision in Preschoolers (VIP) Study Group conducted a multicenter, multidisciplinary, two-phase study to evaluate the performance of vision screening tests for identifying pre-school children with amblyopia, strabismus, significant refractive error, or unexplained reduced visual acuity (VA). The results of the VIP Study provide evidence-based guidelines for preschool vision screening. The best screening tests administered by eye care professionals were non-cycloplegic retinoscopy, Retinomax Autorefractor, SureSight Vision Screener, and linear, crowded Lea Symbols VA at 10 feet. The best screening tests administered by trained nurses and/or lay screeners were Retinomax, SureSight, and VIP single, crowded Lea Symbols VA screening test system at 5 feet. Eye care professionals can improve detection of strabismus by combining unilateral cover test with a refraction test and trained lay screeners can improve detection of strabismus by combining Stereo Smile II with SureSight. The best performing tests had high testability whether performed by trained eye care professionals, nurses, or lay screeners (>/=98%). Although very few children were unable to complete these tests, a child who was “unable” was much more likely to have a vision problem than a child who passed; therefore, children who are unable to complete one of these tests should be referred for further evaluation. When screening using the Retinomax, repeated testing to achieve the manufacturer’s suggested confidence number is valuable and improves specificity. Federal initiatives to increase the number of pre-school children receiving vision screening or examination will increase the number of pre-school children identified with amblyopia, strabismus, and/or significant refractive error. Although there is general agreement regarding the importance of early detection of amblyopia, controversy exists regarding the importance of early detection of refractive error. Because of the high prevalence of significant refractive errors and lack of evidenced-based guidelines for correction of refractive error in pre-school children, future research is needed to evaluate the value of correcting refractive errors in preschoolers who do not have amblyopia and/or strabismus.
Good-Lite is exhibiting at the National Head Start Association’s conference next week in Orlando before exhibiting in ARVO the following week. On the road again . . . Kay Nottingham Chaplin, EdD, is presenting a half-day seminar on preschool vision screening, as well as 2 lectures regarding the same topic.
Everybody’s doing this Blog thing; so we wanted to join in as a way to continue the dialog around vision screening and testing. Initially this Blog will respond to questions from folks who look to Good-Lite for answers about vision screening and testing. We will also discuss new studies, trade shows, and new product. Above all, we seek and encourage your participation. So, add a subscription to your readers and let’s talk vision screening and testing!!