Quinnipiac University, Lions International offer free services, equipment for patients with low vision

Quinnipiac University and Lions International have "teamed up to offer free services and equipment for patients with low vision," according to a release.

 

The Lions Low Vision Center at Quinnipiac is open from 1 to 4 p.m. Thursdays on the North Haven Campus, 370 Bassett Road, the release said

For more information, call 203-582-7703.

 

"Patients at Quinnipiac are met by social work and occupational therapy professors. They are evaluated to see if rehabilitation and the use of adaptive devices – including hand-held and desktop magnifiers, large print clocks and books, special lighting and telephones with large keypads – can help them use their remaining vision and maintain quality of life," the release said. 

“We analyze what adaptations are needed,” Kimberly Hartmann, professor of occupational therapy and director of the Center for Interprofessional Healthcare Education, said, also in the release. “In the future, we may go to the patient’s home, work or school if they are of school age. Low vision is one of the fastest-growing diagnoses in the United States simply because people live longer."

 

The release noted that the patient’s doctor must approve the adaptive equipment, which is funded by the Lions Club. The Quinnipiac professors then show the patients how to use the equipment.

"Low vision is the degree of vision loss that cannot be corrected by eyeglasses, contacts, medicine or surgery. Candidates for the centers must visit an eye-care professional within a month and obtain a prescription for a low-vision evaluation. The Lions review the prescription and filter patients to one of their seven centers in the state." 

 

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