Through the adoption of their Kid Sight Program in late 2017, the Woodbury Lions Club offers free vision screenings to help detect and prevent eye problems in young children.
Kids ages 6 months to 6 years old are eligible for screenings. Matt Johnson, the Lions’ organizer for the program, says they’ve identified 16 child care centers in the area where screenings could be offered, and about 50 percent of kids at those centers have been screened.
Screenings detect six eye issues, including risk factors for amblyopia, a disorder that can cause permanent eye damage if not detected early, and sometimes more serious issues like cataracts and eye cancer.
“We were doing vision screenings at Woodbury Preschool at The Grove, and our equipment diagnosed a child who wasn’t seeing out of one of his eyes,” says Mark Hargis, first vice president for the Lions. “He was overcompensating with the other eye.”
Harris adds, “If this vision issue wasn’t detected early enough, it is probable that this child would have had lifelong vision deficiencies and potentially never to be able to see out of that eye.”
