OPT Visionary - Fall 2016

COLLEGE OF OPTOMETRY • 19 Serving the Underprivileged in the Dominican Republic NSUCO’s Student Volunteer Optometric Services to Humanity (SVOSH) chapter served 1,360 patients in the province of San Pedro de Macorís in the Dominican Republic during spring break in March. The volunteer team included 24 optometry students, 5 optometrist physicians, and 1 optician. Seven different stations were coordinated—case history, prelims, retinoscopy, refraction, tonometry/blood pressure, dilated fundus examination, and optical. The patients, who lined up hours in advance to be seen by the hardworking team, rotated through each station as deemed necessary by the triage optometrists. In addition to identifying significant uncor- rected refractive errors, 1 out of every 12 patients had significant ocular pathology. SVOSH’s main goal is to provide primary eye care to individuals who do not have access to such care due to either geographical or financial reasons. SVOSH members collect thousands of used glasses, including many from the Lions Club and local optometrists, and prepare them for distribution to third-world countries. For most of the patients who receive assis- tance, SVOSH’s services may be the only form of eye health care they will ever receive. u The team of volunteers included 24 optometry students and 4 faculty members. Students perform retinoscopy on patients in the Dominican Republic.