LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The ability to see clearly is something many of us take for granted.
It allows us to read words on a paper, watch the teacher at the front of the classroom, or a friend in the next seat over.
“We all know if you don’t have glasses in elementary school or middle school, you’re just not going to perform. Not only that, there’s significant social impact – disruptive, not smart enough, not knowing you can’t read as a child,” Dr. Inder Singal, Louisville Metro Health’s interim medical director, said.
Last year, 9,000 Jefferson County Public School students failed a vision screening, but only 10% made a follow-up visit to get eyewear.
“You start lecturing – you know you should wear your glasses and then the child tells you, ‘I share it with my siblings’,” Singal said. “You don’t think about that in your own neighborhoods.”
Doctors said the biggest issue for families is accessibility.
“With young people and glasses, they break often,” Singal said. “We’re between a broken pair and waiting until insurance lets you get another set.”
Jennifer Richmond said her third-grader’s worn glasses since she was four years old.
“I know she can’t see. I know she needs her glasses," she said.
Singal said about 300 students were screened on Monday and about 50 of them needed glasses.
Not even 24 hours later, every one of them had a new pair.
“We had a lab technician, Jesse Carpenter, in her lab last night cutting the lenses until 2:30 a.m.,” Dr. Grant Rubesh, owner of VisionWorks, said.
James, a McFerran Elementary student, noticed the difference right away.
“When I look over there and take them off, I can’t see. When I put them on, I can see everything just fine,” he said.
Rubesh said children who put their glasses on after not being able to see beyond their hand, will have a life-changing moment.
“When I didn't have my glasses, I had to go up to the board where my teacher was to tell me to read something,” Zariyah, a student, said.
Richmond was appreciative of the gesture by the vision program.
“For them to come and then just look out for the kids like that, I can't say thank you enough. I just really appreciate it,” she said.
The new program was made possible thanks to the Adarsh Charitable Foundation and Visionworks of Kentucky.
The next school on the list is Maupin Elementary with the goal of making it through every elementary school by the end of next year.
►Make it easy to keep up-to-date with more stories like this. Download the WHAS11 News app now. For Apple or Android users.
Have a news tip? Email assign@whas11.com, or visit our Facebook page or Twitter feed.
RELATED VIDEO