Over the past year, Supervisor Ron Roberts, Congresswoman Susan Davis, and SDG&E have all taken a special interest in supporting the work
being done on the Save Our Children's Sight EyeMobile to benefit underprivileged children in the San Diego area.

The Save Our Children's Sight program is run by the Division of Community Ophthalmology at the Shiley Eye Center. This non-profit program runs the EyeMobile for Children, which is a mobile pediatric eye clinic that provides exams for low income preschoolers at 145 sites throughout San Diego County. The EyeMobile, which is the only one of its kind in the country, has helped more than 26,000 children since its inception in 2001.

One of the many success stories from the EyeMobile, like five-year-old Anthony Barcena's, captures our attention and our hearts. Anthony now has a clear view of life, thanks to the EyeMobile. He was born with a condition called “ptosis.” His eyesight is 20/20 but he could not use his right eye; it was obscured by excess skin which put him at risk for

“I am a strong supporter of
the Save Our Children’s
Sight program.”

- Supervisor Ron Roberts
of the San Diego County
Board of Supervisors

blindness in that eye. Because of the
Save Our Children's Sight Program,
Anthony got the operation he needed to
correct the condition. Anthony's eye
problem was detected at a vision screening
as part of this comprehensive
program that includes referral for a full
eye exam on the EyeMobile.
“ I had the opportunity to visit UCSD's
EyeMobile,” stated Congresswoman
Susan Davis, “and witnessed first hand
the good work they are doing to help
low-income children. I appreciate these
endeavors and as a member of the House
Education and Workforce Committee, I
appreciate the extra steps they are taking
to improve not only the health, but also
the education of our children.”

 

Specially trained staff members and volunteers at Head Start programs and low income preschools perform simple tests to find out which children are “at risk.” Children who fail the screening tests then receive a complete eye examination on the EyeMobile, which is complete with teddy bears wearing glasses and eye charts with recognizable images to children instead of letters. If needed, children can then pick out glasses provided by the Lions Clubs. If the children show signs of a more serious eye condition like cataracts, tumors, or strabismus (poorly aligned eyes), they are referred to the two pediatric ophthalmologists at the Ratner Children's Eye Center at Shiley, David B.Granet, M.D., and Shira L. Robbins, M.D.

“Undetected vision problems in young children that may impact their learning are very common and occur in one out of four elementary school children,” said Professor Barbara Brody, Director of the Division of Community Ophthalmology at Shiley. “ When young children have vision problems, they sometimes think it is normal, because they have always seen the world as fuzzy or unfocused. When children's eyesight is impaired and not corrected early, it can lead to permanent vision loss and/or difficulty learning.”

“ We were really impressed by this program because it concentrates on helping children under six improve their eyesight so they can learn better in school and then do better in life,” said Kimberly Freeman, Director of Community Relations for SDG&E. Parent, Mary Garcia agreed. Her four-year-old, Sonny, had vision problems she never even knew about until his recent eye exam on the EyeMobile, “I will never forget his expression when he walked outside with his glasses on for the first time and said, 'Mommy, now I can see the birds.'”

Each year, more than 100,000 children in the United States needlessly go blind, simply because a treatable eye disease was not recognized while they were at a young age. The Save Our Children's Sight program is attempting to solve this problem in San Diego County. To learn more about how you can help, please call Linda Field in the Division of Community Ophthalmology at the Shiley Eye Center at (858) 822-2831.

Did You Know
the Division for
Community
Ophthalmology...

• Has over 10,000 members in their Age-related Macular Degeneration Assist Registry
• Has performed over 26,000 vision screenings for underserved children in San Diego County
• Has provided over 4,000 complete dilated eye exams for high-risk young children on the EyeMobile for Children

“I appreciate the extra steps they are taking to improve not only the health, but also the education of our children.”

- Congresswoman Susan Davis