This month President Ciszek reflects on the value of data collection, we share information of important activities by the World Council of Optometry, invite you to register to the Prevent Blindness annual event where VOSH/I will receive the Jenny Pomeroy Award, highlight the work of our chapters and much more.

May 2022 Newsletter

President's Insights

We practically have a petting zoo in our 1200 sq foot condo in Chicago. An aging cat (Bunny), two rescue dogs (Porsche and Missy), a fish (Maury) and two as yet unnamed snails. After providing nutrition to the zoo, I take Porsche and Missy for their morning walk. I purposely (to the dismay of my husband), leave my iPhone, Apple watch and all other electronics at home. I want to focus on them, my surroundings and let my brain wander, usually thinking about the office or VOSH. One morning this week, I found myself musing on data collection; an important if not exciting topic. Read the whole article here.

Cheer for VOSH/International at the 2022 Prevent Blindness Summit

On July 13-14, 2022, Prevent Blindness will host its 11th annual Focus on Eye Health National Summit. The Summit will bring together the vision and eye health community to stimulate a dialogue around the theme "Eye-conic Approaches to Eye Health". The Summit will be held via a virtual platform offering simultaneous access to expert presentations; a dedicated exhibitor hall; educational materials, videos, and toolkits; on-demand educational content; and opportunities for networking and collaboration. President Ciszek will receive the 2022 Jenny Pomeroy Award for Excellence in Vision and Public Health on behalf of the organization. Register now and join in the celebrations.

Project on vision and education starts in Nicaragua

VOSH/International is proud to partner with the Universidad Autónoma de Nicaragua and our SVOSH-UNAN chapter to implement a participatory research project on vision and education called "Vision and education:a limitless vision". The first trial clinic has just being completed with over 1100 patients served.

The clinic took place in three districts of Nueva Guinea. Key interinstitutional relationships have been established and the initiative was presented to the Minister of Health during the inauguration of the Nueva Guinea hospital.

We will post more detailed updates as work progresses. Congratulations to Dr Jairo Mercado, his team and the optometry students at UNAN!!!

Partners' initiatives

WCO Fellowships

The World Council of Optometry (WCO) offers two types of fellowships: general and education mentor fellowships.

VOSH/International is an affiliate member of WCO and we would like to encourage our chapters to apply, especially those of Latin America (see poster). More information about the Fellowships here .

Download the poster in Spanish here

WCO 2022 Optometry program in advocacy and leadership

The World Council of Optometry 2022 Advocacy and Leadership Course, "Looking Towards the Future: Optometry Program in Advocacy and Leadership (OPAL)," will be held from August 1 - October 17 this year. The course will provide 18 successful optometrists with knowledge and skills to lead the profession forward through advocacy, public health initiatives, and leadership within the health care sector. Applications must be submitted no later than May 31, 2022, 11:59 p.m. CDT. More information and the application form are here

How to improve our environmental sustainability?

The IAPB Climate Action Working Group co-produced the Guide for environmentally sustainable practices in the eye health sector. In a changing and challenged world, this guide is recommended reading. Download the Guide here .

Chapter of the month

Congratulations to VOSH-TX for being nominated Chapter of the Month. Great work!!

Do not forget to send us updates on your planned clinics to post in our website. Contact venezia@vosh.org

Welcome to the new OGS team members

We would like to extend a warm welcome to Lois Schoenbrun, Executive Director and Sharyn J. Gallatin, Esq. Director of Development, North America. We look forward to working with you. Our work is partly supported by a grant of OGS.

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