|
|
|
|
InFOCUS
(Interprofessional Fostering of Ophthalmic
Care for Underserved Sectors) began in 1987
as an outreach project of the University of
Houston College Optometry. The project produced
the FOCOMETER® an
affordable refracting device appropriate to
areas without access to professional personnel,
electricity or costly equipment. This device
became the centerpiece of a unique program
designed to help medically underserved communities
achieve self- reliance for basic vision care.
In 1995 InFOCUS was chartered as a non-profit
501c3 organization with a mission to provide
eye care to all populations, beginning with
those most in need and hardest to serve due
to poverty or geographic remoteness. Its strategy
is to train local service providers to provide
primary eye care. Its goals are to improve
vision, prevent blindness and promote health.
|
| |
OUR
MISSION:
To
help disadvantaged people
get the eye care and eyeglasses
they need to lead healthy
and productive lives.
|
|
|
| |
| InFOCUS
has teamed up with Eye Deal Eyewear, Inc. to provide affordable
eyeglasses to programs serving the poor. InFOCUS provides
training, appropriate equipment and low- cost eyeglasses
to rural health centers, community ministries, service
clubs, mission teams and non-profit agencies so that these
program partners can offer eye care, including affordable
eyeglasses, to the people they serve. |
| |
Vision
Stations fill an important need in underserved
communities here in the United States. |
|
THE
VISION STATION PROJECT
To meet the needs of underserved communities, InFOCUS developed
a user-friendly path to vision care, the Vision
Station. InFOCUS offers "Introduction to Primary Eye Care" workshops
and step-by-step guidelines to prepare community-based service
providers to assess vision, provide eye health education, refer
patients to eye doctors and - if eyeglasses are prescribed - dispense
glasses from a small, on-site dispensary.
Vision
Stations can be set up in a church, community center,
clinic, school, youth program or any place where
low-income families come for activities, assistance
and services. See more information on Vision
Stations.
|
|
| |
WHY
ARE WE HERE?
As
many as 900 million children and adults in the
world today are visually impaired due to refractive
errors that could be corrected by prescription
eye glasses. The World Health Organization estimates
that 75% of the world’s blindness could be prevented
or treated. Toward that goal, InFOCUS helps large,
medically isolated populations acquire basic vision
services and the capacity to link patients to professional
care.
|
School
children enjoying their new glasses |
|
| |
|
InFOCUS
19728 Saums Rd. PMB #136
Houston, TX 77084
Main phone 281-398-7525; Fax 281-398-7428
|
|
|
