The Prevention of Blindness Department of North Central Sight Services Inc. will hold free vision screenings from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday at the James V. Brown Library's Lowry Room on the third floor of the Welch Children's Wing. All ages from preschooolers to senior adults may attend. No appointments are necessary, but children must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.
Preschool screenings will be conducted with the use of the SureSight Vision Screener from WelchAllyn, a non-invasive method that requires no verbal communication from the child and takes only a few minutes. Any child who does not meet the standards from the Pennsylvania Association for the Blind will be referred to an eye care professional of the parent's choosing.
Adults are screened with the Keystone View Vision Screener. Screenings include depth perception, color perception, peripheral vision and visual acuities for distant and near vision.
Additional checks for intraocular pressures can be performed with a non-contact tonometer, but the procedure is optional. A screening permission form must be filled out by the participant at the time of the screening and will be available at the screening. Adults who do not meet the standards for their age, which is determined by the Pennsylvania Association for the Blind, will receive a referral to an eye care professional of their own choosing.
Free informational pamphlets and booklets on eye disease and prevention will be available at the screening. Information and applications for low-income programs administered by North Central Sight Services Inc. also will be available.
For more information, call the Prevention of Blindness Department at North Central Sight Services at 323-9401, ext. 122, or toll-free at 866-320-2580, ext. 122.
