giving children the power of sight through public/private...
TRANSCRIPT
Stephen L. Williams, M.Ed., MPA, Director
Giving Children the Power of Sight Through Public/Private Collaborations & Partnerships
Presented by: Patricia Bledsoe, MBA
Discuss public-private partnership for vision services to school age children.
Discuss the connection between student’s school performance and resolving vision problems.
Discuss the importance of service learning opportunities.
Objectives
A collaboration with Houston Health Department (HHD) with public and private partners to provide free eye exams and glasses to school aged children
Two programs
o OneSight, a national program
o See to Succeed, the local initiative
Kids Vision Partnership
A foundation of the Luxottica group
HHD/OneSight partnership started in 2007
Provides free eye exams and glasses for 1-2 weeks in Houston (1500-2000 children per week)
OneSight
484,846 children screened in Harris and Fort Bend County schools in 2013-2014*
52,562 failed screening*
20,332 children with unresolved vision problems at end of school year*
*Texas Department of State Health Services Annual Vision Screening
Report 2013-2014 for Region 6 Public Schools
The Need in the Houston Area
Impaired vision affects ability of children to learn
80% of learning in a child’s first 12 years comes
through the eyes
25% children in the U.S. have a vision problem, 20% need glasses
Among juvenile offenders, 78% have a vision problem
Prisons forecast beds needed in 10 years based on 3rd grade reading levels
Why Address the Need
90% of Children Who Need Glasses DON’T Have Them
*According to the Optometric Clinical Practice Guideline. Pediatric Eye and Vision Examinations. St. Louis, MO. American Optometric Association 2nd edition, 2002
Meet Alexander
Alexander is 12 years old and attends a Houston
area Charter school
He never had glasses before attending See to
Succeed in 6th grade
Over the summer his glasses were stolen while
he was swimming at his apartment pool. His
parents were unable to replace the eye wear and
he started 7th grade without his glasses
His school nurse arranged for him to come to See
to Succeed again in January 2014 after noticing
he did not have his glasses any longer
His grades suffered the first semester of 7th grade
due to his not being able to see the board without
straining
Alexander’s Vision
Left Eye Right Eye http://www.eye-sim.com/
Below is a simulation of Alexander’s non-corrected vision
Corrected
Enormous Short- and Long-Term Impact
BETTER VISION FOR
KIDS
STRONGER WORKFORCE & ECONOMY
INCREASED LITERACY & EDUCATION
FEWER SOCIETAL
ISSUES
Create a locally supported initiative to expand service capacity
Provide services at a high volume to address level of need
Provide free eye exams and glasses to 10,000 school aged children in need
The Director’s Vision
Assemble resources to expand capacity
Sell the vision and mission
Build Relationships
Provide infrastructure support
Turning the Vision Into Reality
Provide free eye exams and glasses to 10,000 children per school year
Replicate OneSight’s high volume service delivery model which
o Maximizes the number of children served
o Removes barriers of to access to care
The Mission
Funding: Doctors, Optical
Manager, Frames, Lenses,
Pretest Manager & Students
Specialized Personnel:
Clinical Director, Optometrists,
UH Staff & Students,,
Equipment, Supplies
Kid’s Vision Strategic
Partnerships
Free Lab Work
(10,000 glasses per year)
Build Relationships
Funding: Doctors, Optical
Manager, Frames, Lenses,
Pretest Manager & Students
Specialized Personnel:
Clinical Director, Optometrists, UH Staff & Students,,
Equipment, Supplies
Free Lab Work (10,000
glasses per year)
HDHHS Stephen Williams
ALF Margaret &
Joel Shannon
Berkley Eye Center
San Jacinto College
Essilor Vision
Foundation
NUF Walmart Center
HDHHS Stephen Williams
University of Houston
HDHHS Stephen Williams
Build Relationships for a Purpose
Over 25,000 Glasses Delivered Since 2012
Established Planning Team
Created “See to Succeed” Program
Conducted Pilot Project –
– Spring 2011,
– 422 children seen during the week
See to Succeed
80 percent of the project resources are donated from school districts, cities, government agencies, colleges and universities, non-profit organizations and businesses
$462,000 annual cash cost, $2.3 million in in-kind services and donated glasses
Organizing & Managing Resources
Executive sponsors collaborative
HHD Project Manager & Infrastructure Support
Interagency Operations planning team
Clinics managed with National Incident Management Structure
Organizing & Managing Resources
(6) one week See to Succeed clinics per school year and (1) one week OneSight clinic
Service capacity expanded from 422 in Spring 2011 in one week to 2000 per week in 2014
Over 8,000 children examined in 2014-2015
Results
Improved performance on state academic assessments *
Improved attendance rates*
Prevention of serious eye problems
*
http://www.houstonisd.org/cms/lib2/TX01001591/Centricity/Domain/8269/2011_2012%20One%20Sight%20Evaluation.pdf
Results
Partnerships with established foundations such as OneSight
Support from HHD
Multiple funding and volunteer sources
Success – Critical Factors
College and University partnerships uses service learning with program students
Business partners that donate staff, equipment, glasses and other supplies
Commitment from local school districts
Success – Critical Factors
Set a vision that can be shared
Be clear about the mission
Sell the mission rather than requesting resources
Identify partners who share the vision and commit to the mission
Lessons Learned
Allow partners to determine where they best fit
Provide support from a lead agency to provide continuity and ongoing coordination
Be flexible and continuously improve the process
Recognize and value the work of each partners
Lessons Learned
Consists of organizations who are committed to providing vision services for children
Created strategic plan for the Houston area
Vision: Eye care for every child
Mission: To provide children in need with the power of sight for lifelong achievement
The Kids Vision for Life Houston Area Coalition
For More Information Contact
Patricia Bledsoe, MBA [email protected]
713-449-8937
http://www.houstontx.gov/health/KidsVision/index.html
http://houstonhealthfoundation.org