The Project Vision Hawai‘i van will be on Kaua‘i starting Friday through Feb. 26, offering free eye screenings to the public. Sponsored by Project Vision Hawai‘i, the Young Brothers, District 50 Lions Clubs, all of the Lions Clubs on Kaua‘i,
The Project Vision Hawai‘i van will be on Kaua‘i starting Friday through Feb. 26, offering free eye screenings to the public.
Sponsored by Project Vision Hawai‘i, the Young Brothers, District 50 Lions Clubs, all of the Lions Clubs on Kaua‘i, and ‘Ohana Health Plan and affiliates, the van will open its week-long Kaua‘i tour Feb. 18 at a Kaua‘i Wellness Event from 4 to 9 p.m. at Kukui Grove Center in the area next to Sears.
The public can take advantage of not only the Project Vision Hawai‘i free eye screenings, but also other free health screenings by ‘Ohana Health Plan at Kukui Grove.
These include lung function, blood pressure and glucose readings, kidney screening, and medication management.
The Project Vision Hawai‘i free eye screenings can detect diabetes, glaucoma, cataracts, macular degeneration, and high blood pressure changes before vision loss occurs, states a flier from the Lions Club.
“Lion Roy Nishida brought together the various groups to make this tour happen,” said Paul Steinfort of the East Kaua‘i Lions Club in an e-mail. “All five of Kaua‘i’s Lions Clubs will provide the manpower to help with the Vision van. Project Vision Hawai‘i supplies the van and technicians, Young Brothers provides the transportation, and ‘Ohana Health Plan provides financial support as well as the free screenings at Kukui Grove, supported by more than a dozen co-sponsors from around Hawai‘i.”
Project Vision Hawai‘i focuses on the under-served population in the state as well as the general public, providing free retinal eye screenings in its Project Vision Hawai‘i van.
Retinal disease has a devastating impact on vision and can result in permanent vision loss if left undetected, states a flier from Project Hawai‘i Vision. Damage can be prevented, if detected early enough.
Project Vision Hawai‘i’s goal is to seek out eye disease before it has an opportunity to cause damage and vision loss, the mobile van being able to be deployed to any location with Young Brothers providing free shipment to Neighbor Islands.
When the van opens on Feb. 18, it will be its second visit to Kaua‘i.
Detecting eye disease is especially important to Hawai‘i people due to the large diabetic population that resides here.
Project Vision Hawai‘i started its operations in December, 2007, and since then has provided free retinal screenings to more than 4,000 participants, the Project Vision Hawai‘i flier states.
Of those, more than 50 percent were found to have abnormal findings in at least one of their eyes.
What concerns leaders of Project Vision Hawai‘i is that about half of the patients with abnormalities had no medical insurance and were not receiving regular eye examinations.
The free health screenings with Project Vision Hawai‘i and ‘Ohana Health Plan at Kukui Grove will also continue Feb. 19 from 9:30 a.m. to noon.
On Feb. 20, the Project Vision Hawai‘i van moves to the Waimea Plantation Cottages from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
‘Ele‘ele Big Save is the stop for Feb. 21 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., and on Feb. 23, the van will be parked at the Kapa‘a Big Save store from 1 to 6 p.m.
Kilauea Neighborhood Center is the stop planned for Feb. 25 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and its Kaua‘i tour ends Feb. 26 at the Princeville Shopping Center, eastern end, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
For information on scheduling, call Lion Nishida at 635-6676. Visit www.projectvisionhawaii.com for more information on Project Vision Hawai‘i and its van. Call Anne Chipchase at 808-282-3899 for information on the ‘Ohana Health Plan screenings.
