School eye clinic to
be first in region
be first in region
6:47 PM, Sep. 1, 2011|
EAST PRICE HILL - Eyesight screenings last
year at Oyler school revealed that 1 in 3
kids needed glasses. Yet by year's end,
fewer than half had gotten them.
The 700-student school serving grades K-
12 has a nearly 90 percent poverty rate.
Many families can't afford or don't have
access to eye care services, which can hurt
a child academically.
If a child can't read the blackboard or
focus on their homework papers, they
won't be able to learn, school health
officials say.
School and community leaders plan to
change that by opening a first-of-its kind
eye clinic in the building next school year to
offer eye exams and fit kids with glasses
on site.
"The biggest thing to recognize is that even
though there might be providers nearby, a
lot of students who need health services
aren't able to access them," said Marilyn
Crumpton, medical director for the Division
of School and Adolescent Health and the
Cincinnati Health Department.
"Providing services in the school that they
really need is another way to provide
access to health care where every other
way has failed."
year at Oyler school revealed that 1 in 3
kids needed glasses. Yet by year's end,
fewer than half had gotten them.
The 700-student school serving grades K-
12 has a nearly 90 percent poverty rate.
Many families can't afford or don't have
access to eye care services, which can hurt
a child academically.
If a child can't read the blackboard or
focus on their homework papers, they
won't be able to learn, school health
officials say.
School and community leaders plan to
change that by opening a first-of-its kind
eye clinic in the building next school year to
offer eye exams and fit kids with glasses
on site.
"The biggest thing to recognize is that even
though there might be providers nearby, a
lot of students who need health services
aren't able to access them," said Marilyn
Crumpton, medical director for the Division
of School and Adolescent Health and the
Cincinnati Health Department.
"Providing services in the school that they
really need is another way to provide
access to health care where every other
way has failed."
The Cincinnati Health Department, the
Health Foundation, Cincinnati Public Schools
last month won a $500,000 federal grant
to open the eye care center and to build a
new school-based health center at Withrow
High School in Hyde Park. The groups have
already spent $1.2 million in planning
grants for the projects.
Currently 15 school-based health centers
operate at schools throughout Greater
Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky,
providing students with broader access to
health care.
But Oyler would be the first school in the
region to have an eye clinic to provide
vision exams and glasses. The next-closest
such facility is in Chicago, health officials
said.
"It's pretty rare," said Kitty Kerrigan King,
director of community relationships for
Communities in Schools of Central Ohio.
The organization promotes wrap-around
services for kids -like health care, meals
and shelter - to remove barriers to their
Health Foundation, Cincinnati Public Schools
last month won a $500,000 federal grant
to open the eye care center and to build a
new school-based health center at Withrow
High School in Hyde Park. The groups have
already spent $1.2 million in planning
grants for the projects.
Currently 15 school-based health centers
operate at schools throughout Greater
Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky,
providing students with broader access to
health care.
But Oyler would be the first school in the
region to have an eye clinic to provide
vision exams and glasses. The next-closest
such facility is in Chicago, health officials
said.
"It's pretty rare," said Kitty Kerrigan King,
director of community relationships for
Communities in Schools of Central Ohio.
The organization promotes wrap-around
services for kids -like health care, meals
and shelter - to remove barriers to their
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education.
"I think as we move forward that bug will
be put into other people's heads to do
that. That's where the kids are," said King.
That's where we should be doing this."
While rare in the region, school-based eye
clinics do exist elsewhere, including
Milwaukee and Illinois. In Los Angeles, a
UCLA Mobile Eye Clinic provides eye care to
the underserved, including schools.
Locally, the eye center and new school-
based health center are the latest effort by
this district of 33,000 students to serve the
health needs of its primarily low-income
student body.
Schools, through partnerships with public
and private organizations, provide
everything from mental health services to
after-school programs to health care.
Oyler's eye care center will be open to any
child in the district. Costs will be based on
the family's ability to pay.
Parents can seek services too, but students
will have priority, organizers said.
The grant was among $95 million in
federal money awarded to 278 school-
based health centers nationwide.
"I think as we move forward that bug will
be put into other people's heads to do
that. That's where the kids are," said King.
That's where we should be doing this."
While rare in the region, school-based eye
clinics do exist elsewhere, including
Milwaukee and Illinois. In Los Angeles, a
UCLA Mobile Eye Clinic provides eye care to
the underserved, including schools.
Locally, the eye center and new school-
based health center are the latest effort by
this district of 33,000 students to serve the
health needs of its primarily low-income
student body.
Schools, through partnerships with public
and private organizations, provide
everything from mental health services to
after-school programs to health care.
Oyler's eye care center will be open to any
child in the district. Costs will be based on
the family's ability to pay.
Parents can seek services too, but students
will have priority, organizers said.
The grant was among $95 million in
federal money awarded to 278 school-
based health centers nationwide.
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