The goal of an eye care outreach program is to provide vision care to those for whom financial, geographic, or physical barriers prevent access to such services.

At the Indiana University School of Optometry, an additional goal is to introduce our students to programs, populations, and practice modalities that they might not experience in a "typical" clinical setting. We believe that this exposure results in graduating doctors who develop greater awareness of the issues that influence access to healthcare. It is hoped that these doctors in turn will exhibit greater personal engagement in the communities where they live and work.

What follows is a brief description of the outreach activities of the school, as well as links to further information.

The Volunteers in Medicine of Monroe County (VIM) program began in April of 2007. It provides free medical services to low income, uninsured Indiana residents of Monroe and Owen County. The Community Eye Care Center of Indiana University School of Optometry has partnered with VIM to provide free comprehensive vision care and reduced cost eyeglasses to those who qualify. Contact the VIM program to see whether you qualify for services.

The Larue D. Carter Memorial Hospital is one of six Indiana psychiatric hospitals (SPHs) accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO). Long-term services are provided to children and adolescents with serious emotional disturbance, adults of all ages with serious mental illness, and adults with chronic addictive disorders. Persons with developmental disabilities and those with mental illness also receive care there.

Indiana University School of Optometry doctors and student interns provided 150 patients of Larue D. Carter Memorial Hospital with comprehensive vision care and 115 pairs of glasses in 2007. Services are provided every Monday.

The Rural Health Clinic Program of the Indiana University School of Optometry provides eye care services and low cost eye glasses to low income, uninsured individuals at the site in Jeffersonville, Indiana.

In 2007, there were 209 patient encounters in the rural health clinic program, as well as 75 pair of glasses dispensed.

According to its Web site, InfantSEE® is "a public health program designed to ensure that eye and vision care becomes an integral part of infant wellness care . . . . Under this program . . . member optometrists will provide a comprehensive infant eye assessment within the first year of life as a no-cost public health service." The Indiana University School of Optometry is an active participant in the InfantSEE® program, having provided 125 comprehensive eye examinations for children under the age of one in 2007.

Additionally, the IU School of Optometry provided vision screening for 1068 kindergarten and first graders at 15 Bloomington schools and 12 schools in Indianapolis in 2007. These screenings help identify students who need eyeglasses or other interventions to help them function at their highest level in school and, thus, later in life.