UnitedHealthcare and Vision To Learn Distribute Free Glasses to 137 Marietta Students
Mobile clinics at Dunleith Elementary identified vision impairments, with 30 students receiving prescription lenses in a group celebration.
By Yasmin Nasser ·
Vision To Learn and UnitedHealthcare Vision handed out prescription glasses to 30 students at Dunleith Elementary School in Marietta, Georgia, on Oct. 21. The distribution is part of a larger effort that will provide corrective lenses to 137 students at the school during the current academic year.
The event combined free vision screenings, eye exams, and lens fittings into a single gathering for kindergartners through fifth graders. Greg Ott, the vice president for Georgia and Alabama at UnitedHealthcare, attended the ceremony and observed the students' reactions.
"Some of the kids actually saying to me and others like 'I can finally see' or 'I didn't realize that it could be this clear' was a really touching moment," Ott said. He noted that the atmosphere in the room shifted from nervousness to confidence as students tried on their new eyewear.
Students chose their own frames before prescriptions were prepared. During the ceremony, they opened their glasses cases together and took photographs in decorated frames to take home. Ott said the shared experience helped younger students feel less isolated in receiving medical care.
The partnership between the nonprofit and the insurer began approximately five or six years ago. Vision To Learn, founded in 2012, operates mobile clinics to remove transportation and financial barriers to eye care. The organization selects schools in communities where families face financial hurdles in accessing health services.
Nationally, Vision To Learn has provided nearly 4 million children with vision screenings and more than 830,000 with eye exams across 20 states and Washington, D.C. The organization has given glasses to nearly 700,000 children, approximately 90% of whom live in poverty.
Ott pointed to a specific case in the Atlanta area involving a high school student who wore his father's old glasses because his family believed they would help. After an exam through the program, the student received properly prescribed lenses. Ott said such cases show how untreated vision problems can impact education without the student's knowledge.
"Healthcare is delivered locally," Ott said. He indicated that growing relationships in metro Atlanta could allow the program to reach more campuses in coming years.
