Nearly 150 elementary school children received comprehensive vision exams at Children's Vision Day at Marshall B. Ketchum University (MBKU), on Friday, October 11. Students from Jackson Elementary School in Santa Ana, ranging from kindergarten to fifth grade, and who failed the school-based vision screening, were transported to MBKU's Eye Care Center located at 2575 Yorba Linda Blvd., Fullerton, CA, for the comprehensive vision exam. Faculty and optometric interns from MBKU's Southern California College of Optometry provided the vision care and faculty from MBKU's School of Physician Assistant Studies provided blood pressure testing.
Overall, students at 36 elementary schools in the Santa Ana Unified School District will receive a vision screening and each child that fails the screening will receive a follow-up comprehensive vision exam. To date, five schools have been completed with 10 schools per academic year slated for the program.
"Marshall B. Ketchum University has a long history of community service and we are committed to ensuring that every school-aged child in Orange County is vision-ready to learn," said Assistant Professor and Community Vision Care Coordinator Lynn Lowell, O.D. "In one-month's time we'll go back to Jackson Elementary School to evaluate the student's vision and comfort-level with any eyewear that was prescribed at MBKU's Children's Vision Day.
Several community-based organizations have combined efforts to provide vision care services for children in need. The Kids Vision for Life program, jointly sponsored by the Essilor Vision Foundation and the Alcon Foundation, as well as the Children's Health Initiative of Orange County provided the initial vision screenings.
Here is the link to the PBS SoCal news video: http://video.pbssocal.org/video/2365101929/
About Marshall B. Ketchum University
Established in 1904, the Marshall B. Ketchum University (MBKU), is a private, non-profit, educational institution. The University confers a four-year, professional degree, Doctor of Optometry (O.D.) and a Master of Science in Vision Science (M.S.) degree. MBKU's developing School of Physician Assistant Studies expects to award a Master of Medical Sciences (MMS) degree.
The University's superior 109-year-old optometric clinical education program provides patient care experiences in community optometric clinics; exposure to the delivery of optometric care in multi-disciplinary settings; and experiences in practices serving a wide variety of ethnic and socio-economic patient groups. Marshall B. Ketchum University owns and operates two premier eye and vision care centers¬ – the Eye Care Center located on its campus in Fullerton, CA, and the Optometric Center of Los Angeles located on Broadway at Martin Luther King Boulevard.
Accreditation:
Marshall B. Ketchum University (MBKU), is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC).
The Accreditation Council on Optometric Education (ACOE) of the American Optometric Association also accredits the University's Southern California College of Optometry.
