Reaching Out: Inspiring the Future of Optometry

By Katie Ray

The Kentucky College of Optometry has developed several off-campus community outreach programs in which students provide vision care services to rural underserved patient populations as part of their standard clinical training. The goal is to provide valuable clinical training for students and serve segments of the local population with limited healthcare access.

PROVIDING VISION SCREENINGS

KYCO has provided vision screenings in Pike County since 2017, screening more than 2,600 children. Students can assess children’s visual acuity, color vision, ocular alignment and ocular health. Extending their reach this year, they visited 19 schools in Pike and Floyd counties. Through the screenings, approximately 28 percent of elementary school students were referred for a comprehensive eye exam based on the findings.

“These vision screenings will hopefully detect any visual issues that may negatively impact a child’s performance in school and sports,” said Assistant Professor of Optometry and Director of Community Outreach Rachel Fitzgerald, O.D., FAAO. “We have identified a sizable number of elementary school students with untreated visual conditions such as an eye turn, lazy eye, high refractive error and ocular disease.”

Third-year KYCO student Maddie Dillon wants to give every child the best opportunity to achieve all they can.

By screening the area’s youth, KYCO is doing its part to ensure that a child’s vision never gets in the way of chasing any and every dream they have.

“Appalachia is undoubtedly one of the most underserved areas in America today. However, I’m blessed to watch each day as KYCO strives to change that. These screenings impact Appalachian children in ways that wouldn’t be possible without the university’s dedication to its mission,” said Dillon. “Children with visual hindrances often don’t realize the rest of the world doesn’t see like they do until it is called to their attention. These screenings allow KYCO’s students and faculty an exceptional opportunity to look for potential vision issues that may impact these children’s futures.”

KYCO students further provide vision screenings to adult patients in the community in their second-year clinical internship courses. With those screenings, students provide information on the importance of vision care and identify significant problems with visual acuity, ocular alignment, visual field, intraocular pressure and ocular health.

Serving approximately 100-150 patients per day, KYCO partners with various Lions Clubs in Kentucky and Tennessee to provide eye exams and vision screenings to people of Appalachia. In a joint effort with the Pikeville Lions Club, founded by KYCO faculty and students, vision screenings are held annually outside the Health Professions Education Building during Hillbilly Days, one of the state’s largest festivals.

From left Maddie Dillon, Rachel Fitzgerald, O.D., FAAO and Caroline Pasi

EXTENDING THE REACH

Since 2018, KYCO has held one-week international clinics through their Student Volunteer Optometric Services to Humanity (SVOSH) and Fellowship of Christian Optometrists (FCO) chapters. SVOSH has conducted clinics in Mexico and El Salvador, partnering with local groups to ensure sustainability. FCO has partnered with the Ret Pray Love Foundation to provide volunteer clinics in Puerto Rico and also has conducted a trip to the Dominican Republic.

Through these clinics, thousands of patients who could not obtain eye care received glasses and sunglasses to help them function better in their lives. Many patients were referred for medical conditions discovered at these clinics. Students and faculty have also traveled to China twice to build partnerships with foreign providers and assist in examining patients at risk for myopia.

The SVOSH chapter has partnered with Remote Area Medical to provide eye care services to the underserved of Appalachia, concentrating efforts in Eastern Kentucky, Western Tennessee and Southwestern Virginia. Providing eye exams and glasses for those who need them, more than 200 patients are served at each clinic, and SVOSH coordinates several of these trips yearly.

GIVING EDUCATIONAL TALKS

Another aspect of KYCO’s community outreach that evolved in 2019 includes providing educational talks at numerous local elementary schools. During these twohour lessons, Fitzgerald and several third-year KYCO students lead groups of fourth- through sixth-grade students through a lesson about eye anatomy, depth perception, contact lenses and even what it is like to be in optometry school. KYCO hopes to inspire children from a young age to consider possible opportunities after high school and even a career in medicine or optometry.

“We split the students into different classes, and then the optometry students rotate between classrooms with different activities. We have demonstrations with prisms, glasses and optical illusions. Students even get to touch and feel a contact lens,” explained Fitzgerald. “With these talks, we hope to spark their interest in science and maybe even a career in the medical field.”

Third-year KYCO student Caroline Pasi enjoys leading the children in hands-on activities, hoping to inspire a generation of future optometrists.

“One activity we do is to let the kids learn how the pupil changes size under different lighting conditions by briefly shining light into each other’s eyes. The kids are fascinated with what we show them and are always eager to learn more. Dr. Fitzgerald does a great job of planning activities that make the kids want to engage,” said Pasi. “These kids are getting a unique perspective and a memorable experience. Most children remember the optometrist as an adult in a white coat who uses eye drops and gives you glasses, but these kids get to play games with us and are really excited about learning about the eye. We are students just like they are, which I think makes a career in optometry feel more tangible.”

Dillon enjoys working with children from local schools, even the school she attended.

“To a lot of these students, we are their first introduction into what an optometrist is and what we as ‘eye doctors’ can do,” said Dillon. “For so many children in our area, they may be the first in their family to even have the opportunity to attend college. Having a clear goal in mind and something definitive to work toward each day might be the very factor that ensures the next generation of eye care professionals attend undergraduate schooling and the doctorate program of their dreams.”

Fitzgerald hopes to increase young students’ awareness of the importance of eye care and vision while providing insight into becoming an optometry student.

“The elementary school students are always engaged and excited to learn more about the eyes and optometry. I believe this program is a great addition to any science curriculum but also teaches them about possible career paths,” said Fitzgerald, “especially given the fact that they can consider staying local for their education postgraduation with a nearby optometry school like KYCO.”

Assistant Dean and Professor of Optometry Josephine Ibironke, O.D., MPH, FAAO, says KYCO is touching communities throughout the region, reaching more people sooner than they would have been able to reach before.

“A part of our mission is to develop leaders in optometry, and we are doing so by providing students various supervised opportunities to serve in our community,” said Ibironke. “Our outreach at KYCO reflects our commitment to seeking out those that need care and serving the underserved.”