We Need a Change in Eye Care!

President Obama asked us to believe, not just in his ability to bring about real change in Washington, he asked us to believe in ours.

Here are real changes we need in eye care:

1. The OLD: A public health policy that promotes vision screenings.
CHANGE We Need: A public health policy that promotes comprehensive eye and vision examinations. Vision screenings do not diagnose eye and vision problems.  Eye exams do. 

2. The OLD: National Institutes of Health, Healthy People 2010 states: Increase the availability of vision screening for pre-school children ages 5 years and under.
CHANGE We Need: Increase the availability of eye exams for pre-school children ages 5 years and under. Vision screening is not a substitute for an eye examination.

3. The OLD: Healthy People 2010 states: Increase the proportion of people having dilated eye health examinations at regular intervals.
CHANGE We Need: Increase the proportion of people having comprehensive eye and vision examinations at regular intervals. We shouldn't neglect vision. A healthy eyeball could still have a functional vision problem.

4. The OLD: Federal bill H.R. 577, the Vision Care for Kids Act.
CHANGE We Need: A federal bill that provides grant money to states requiring eye exams for children starting school. H.R. 577 supports inadequate vision screenings.  All children need eye exams by an eye doctor. 

5. The OLD: Parents can only submit a government form as proof of an eye examination.
CHANGE We Need: Parents should be able to submit forms from the private sector, such as the Vision First form, as proof of an eye exam.  Government forms can be limiting.  The Vision First form ensures a child's best school supply, healthy eyes and good vision, and should be accepted. 

We, the undersigned, support the petition, We Need a Change in Eye Care.

Thank you for your willingness and ability to change the world.

Let's bring children's vision into the 21st century!