Mission Statement
Our Mission is to Prevent Blindness and Preserve Sight?
Prevent Blindness Ohio is celebrating 50 years asOhio's leading volunteer nonprofit public health organization dedicated to preventing blindness and preserving sight. Founded in 1957 by U.S. Senator John Bricker and Lion's Club Member, Bob Morrison with support from Nationwide, the Ohio Department of Health and Delta Gamma Fraternity, PBO serves all 88 Ohio counties. We provide direct services to more than 800,000 Ohioans annually and educate millions of consumers about what they can do to protect and preserve their precious gift of sight. Prevent Blindness Ohio is an affiliate of Prevent Blindness America, the country's second-oldest national voluntary health organization. For more information or to make a contribution, visit www.pbohio.org or call 800-301-2020.
Description
Our work is carried out through:
PUBLIC INFORMATION
Advocacy and Safety: PBO supports public policies that advocate good eye health and safety for all Ohioans: fireworks safety, vision and safe driving, and access to eye health care.
Education: Workplace wellness programming and preschool/elementary classroom curricula provide the facts about how to make informed decisions about eye healthcare and eye safety.
Information and Referral: We offer a comprehensive selection of print and audio-visual materials dealing with all aspects of eye health and safety for use at home, work, school and leisure. Call our toll-free hotline (1-800-301-2020).
RESEARCH
Prevent Blindness Ohio provides Predoctoral Student Fellow Awards for Female Students Pursing Careers in Vision Research. The Fellowship Program is designed to provide training support for future generations of outstanding female scientists committed to pursuing biomedical, behavioral or clinical research careers relevant to the mission of Prevent Blindness Ohio ? to prevent blindness and preserve sight.
Prevent Blindness Ohio also contributes to the funding of The Prevent Blindness America Investigator Awards which provide support for clinically-based research investigating public health issues related to the burden of illness of eye-related health and safety topics. All research grants promote the core mission of Prevent Blindness America - preserving sight and preventing blindness. The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) provide the scientific review of the grant applications.
EARLY DETECTION
Prompt professional treatment is essential in halting eye diseases like "lazy eye" and glaucoma. Vision screening and training programs enable hundreds of volunteers to detect potentially blinding eye problems early on when their treatment is most successful. Vision Care Outreach programs provide comprehensive eye care (eye exam, glasses and aftercare) for medically indigent children and adults.
