Greenfield Lions hold vision screenings for kindergarten pupils

By Harold Schmidt
Greenfield Lions Club

In 1925, Helen Keller challenged Lions International to become "Knights of the Blind."

The Greenfield Lions Club members take this challenge seriously and recently provided eye screenings to all the kindergarten pupils of the Greenfield schools with the help of third-year Ohio State University optometry students.

The idea of helping the Greenfield school nurse with eye screenings was first suggested as a club project in the fall of 2004. The first screening was held in the spring of 2005 and has been a yearly event ever since.

Third-year Ohio State University optometry students spend a day each week during one semester visiting schools and screening students in the greater Columbus area.

The OSU students are able to give a more thorough screening than a school nurse would be able to do. Greenfield is the farthest they travel from the Ohio State University campus.

Tests performed by the OSU students include stereo acuity, near vision acuity, color vision, cover test, distance visual acuity, retinoscopy and ophtalmoscopy.

This year, a total of 150 students were screened with 35 of them being referred to see an optometrist. This is a 23-percent referral rate. The vision problems of these students might not have been found without the detailed screening performed by the OSU students.

All costs for the screening are covered by the Greenfield Lions Club through sales of candy and brooms, the club's Wheel's of Progress Burger Booth and Sight Seal donations.

Without the public's generous support, Lions programs such as this would not be possible.

The Greenfield Lions would like to thank everyone who generously donate to the club to help them truly be "Knights of the Blind."