The National Center for Children’s Vision and Eye Health at Prevent Blindness and The National Institute for Children’s Health Quality Announce State Participants for Initiative to Improve Children’s Vision
CHICAGO (June 9, 2016) –As part of the Improving Children's Vision: Systems, Stakeholders & Support initiative,The National Center for Children’s Vision and Eye Health at Prevent Blindness (NCCVEH) and the National Institute for Children’s Health Quality (NICHQ) have selected three states to participate in the collaborative aimed at making improvements in the systems supporting children's vision and eye health, with a special focus on reducing the prevalence of vision problems in hard-to-reach populations of young children.
Arizona, Ohio and Wyoming will join the three-year Maternal and Child Health Bureau-funded project (HRSA grant number H7MMC24738) led by the NCCVEH and the NICHQ.
The project will employ quality improvement principles and practices to implement systems-level changes that will:
- Strengthen statewide partnerships and coordination among key stakeholders in children’s vision and eye health
- Increase access to and utilization of vision health services in hard to reach communities
- Increase early detection and treatment of vision problems
- Establish state-level surveillance approaches
- Implement vision health system measures of accountability
“We look forward to working closely with our new partners in Arizona, Ohio and Wyoming to help ensure our children are given the sight-saving services they need to put them on a path to a lifetime of healthy vision,” said Hugh R. Parry, president and CEO of Prevent Blindness. “We also thank the NICHQ staff for their leadership and assistance in implementing this important program.”
“We’re excited about this collaboration and committed to supporting these states to increase the proportion of children aged 5 years and younger who receive vision screening and diagnosis by 20 percent by 2018,” says NICHQ Director of Programs, Meghan Johnson, MSc. “We’re confident that NICHQ’s expertise in quality improvement and leading multi-state virtual learning collaboratives will help these teams reach this important goal.”
For more information about the Improving Children’s Vision: Systems, Stakeholders & Support project or children’s vision health topics, please visit http://nationalcenter.preventblindness.org/, http://nichq.org/childrens-health/improving_vision_systems or contact Kira Baldonado at (800) 331-2020 or [email protected].
About The National Center for Children's Vision and Eye Health at Prevent Blindness
Founded in 1908, Prevent Blindness is the nation's leading volunteer eye health and safety organization dedicated to fighting blindness and saving sight. Focused on promoting a continuum of vision care, Prevent Blindness touches the lives of millions of people each year through public and professional education, advocacy, certified vision screening and training, community and patient service programs and research. In 2009, Prevent Blindness established the National Center for Children’s Vision and Eye Health, with funding and leadership support from the HRSA- Maternal and Child Health Bureau. Serving as a major resource for the establishment of a public health infrastructure, the National Center advances and promotes children’s vision and eye care, providing leadership and training to public entities throughout the United States. The National Center is advised by a committee of national experts and leaders from the fields of ophthalmology, optometry, pediatrics, nursing, family advocates and public health to guide the work and recommendations of the Center. For more information, or to make a contribution to the sight-saving fund, call (800) 331-2020. Or, visit us on the Web atwww.preventblindness.org or www.facebook.com/preventblindness.
About NICHQ
NICHQ is an independent, nonprofit organization working for nearly two decades to improve children’s health. NICHQ helps organizations and professionals who share this mission make breakthrough improvements so children and families live healthier lives. For more information about NICHQ, go to www.NICHQ.org/about. If you’d like more information about this topic or to schedule an interview, please call or email Cindy Hutter at[email protected] or (617) 391-2757.