Eyecare America

More than three million people in the United States are blind or visually impaired according to the National Eye Institute (NEI).  In addition to the unimaginable personal and emotional toll blindness causes, individuals, their families and loved ones, the current cost in lost tax income and benefits resulting from blindness and vision impairment is a staggering $67 billion dollars per year in the U.S. alone.

Due to the rapidly changing population of the United States, affected by an aging baby-boomer generation, a growing number of minority citizens and the sudden increase of diabetes, the NEI estimates that unless immediate high quality and cost-effective eye care is implemented, the number of people who suffer from eye disease will reach more than 30 million people by the year 2020.

About EyeCare America

EyeCare America provides access to eye care for people who are medically underserved and may not otherwise have the ability to receive or pay for eye care.  EyeCare America’s services are provided by a dedicated group of more than 7,000 ophthalmologists who demonstrate their commitment to their communities by volunteering their time and expertise.  More than 90% of the care provided through our programs is at no out-of-pocket cost to the patient.  It is the largest public service program of its kind in American medicine. 

EyeCare America’s programs include:

Seniors EyeCare Program – Provides educational materials about eye health and helps connect seniors to ophthalmic care at no out-of-pocket cost.

Glaucoma EyeCare Program – Encourages the early detection and treatment of glaucoma by promoting awareness of glaucoma’s risk factors and providing eye exams to qualified individuals who are at increased risk for the disease.

AMD EyeCare Program – The AMD EyeCare Program helps increase awareness about Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) risk factors and promotes the importance of diagnosis and treatment.  EyeCare America provides educational materials and available treatment options for AMD, in addition to informing patients diagnosed with AMD about vision rehabilitation resources which can help improve or maintain their quality of life.

Diabetes EyeCare Program – Provides educational materials that increase awareness of the importance of yearly, dilated eye examinations for individuals with diabetes and provides eye care to individuals 65 and older at no out-of-pocket cost.

Children’s EyeCare Program – Educates parents and primary care physicians about the importance of early childhood eye screens and treatment.

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