Our Vision

Our Vision is to preserve a lifetime of sight for all Georgians especially children, seniors, and those without access to eye care through vision screenings, eye exams, and education.

About Prevent Blindness Georgia

Prevent Blindness Georgia was established in 1965 as an affiliate of Prevent Blindness America, the nation's leading not-for-profit eye health and safety organization. With a focus on promoting a continuum of vision care, Prevent Blindness Georgia touches the lives of thousands of people each year through public and professional education, advocacy, certified vision screening and training, community and patient service programs, and research. In program year 2011, Prevent Blindness Georgia served 121 counties in Georgia through our children's and adult programs. Public health nurses in all 18 public health districts  were trained in the best evidence based method of children's vision screening as part of a state contract with the Department of Community Health.

Star Pupils™ Children's Vision Screening

During this past school year, Prevent Blindness Georgia's Star Pupils Children's Vision Screening program, utilizing the services of 15 certified vision screeners, screened more than 31,000 Georgia four year olds and referred about six percent of them to an eye care professional for further evaluation. Suspected eye conditions included amblyopia or "lazy eye" blindness, strabismus or muscle imbalance, and refractive errors. If detected at an early age, children's eye conditions, some of which could ultimately lead to blindness, can be corrected with prescription eyeglasses or patching to strengthen the weak eye. We recognize that vision problems are the leading handicap of childhood and continue to grow the program across the state as funding permits.

Currently, Prevent Blindness Georgia is focusing on our School Nurse and Partner Pediatrician programs. Through these programs, school nurses and pediatric offices are trained in the best evidence-based method of vision screening children using a manual jointly published by the American Academy of Pediatrics and Prevent Blindness America.

Vision Outreach™ Adult Vision Program

In 2000, we began Vision Outreach™, a mobile, full-service vision program that offers free vision screenings, eye examinations, and low-cost eyeglasses to low-income adults. The unique model of taking vision screeners, eye doctors, equipment, ophthalmic technicians, and even eyeglasses on-site to shelters allows us to diagnose those with eye disease and refer them for further treatment. Over the past 11 years, Prevent Blindness Georgia has diagnosed hundreds of cases of eye disease that, if left undiagnosed, would lead to blindness.

Georgia Retinal Imaging Project

The Georgia Retinal Imaging Project, which utilizes new retinal imaging technology to detect glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy, is underway, thanks to the R. Howard Dobbs, Jr., Foundation which provided funding for the Nidek Automated Fundus camera. Prevent Blindness Georgia board member Scott Pastor, MD, a glaucoma specialist with Eye Consultants of Atlanta, designed the project.