Share the Vision

January 2023

Florida Lions Eye Clinic

Monthly Newsletter

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Look who became a Centenarian!

We are so fortunate to have the pleasure of celebrating such a special milestone! A FLLEC Founding Physician became a Centenarian! Dr. Alfonse Cinotti turned 100 years old on New Year's Day!

Our community is a better place because of our founders. They paved the way to preventing blindness in Florida!

Please join us in wishing Dr. Cinotti a very happy and healthy birthday, and many more to come!

Wouldn't it be amazing if we could get 100 people to donate $100 in Dr. Cinotti's honor?!

Click the balloons below to donate!

Why are annual eye exams important?

As noted by the CDC, vision health is rarely included in public health programs designed to prevent or manage chronic diseases because of limited resources and competing priorities. As a result, most public health agencies lack the framework or guidelines they need to appropriately address vision and eye health as a public health issue.

Vision health is critically important for all aspects of a person’s life, including physical health, social engagement, education, employment, and socioeconomic position. Reduced vision affects a person’s ability to perform daily activities and increases a person’s risk of other health problems and premature death. It can also cause economic stress on individuals and society from direct medical expenses and indirect expenses related to loss of mobility and productivity.

The leading causes of blindness and low vision in the United States are primarily age-related eye diseases such as age-related macular degeneration, cataract, diabetic retinopathy, and glaucoma. Other common eye disorders include amblyopia and strabismus.

Fortunately, the Florida Lions Eye Clinic helps alleviate the stress and worry from patients who are unable to afford even the most basic eye care. Complete annual eye exams are important for preventative health and to catch medical issues that can appear in between visits. Make a New Year's resolution to prioritize your eye health and book an appointment today!

Many thanks to those who donated in 2022! Let's make 2023 a great year for FLLEC!

United More Than Ever is the theme! Robin & Miranda were happy to attend a great pacesetters kickoff with United Way of Lee, Hendry, and Glades! We are proud to be a Partner Agency, and surrounded by so many amazing people working towards the same goal!

Not only do we have the honor of being a 2023 Lighthouse Bay Lights The Way designated charity, we continually benefit from our friends at Lighthouse Bay visiting the Clinic with donations of glasses! Please feel free to drop off sunglasses, readers, prescription glasses and contacts. Our patients are so appreciative receiving free glasses!

Keep them coming!! We are so grateful to everyone who stops by the clinic and drops off glasses! We were so happy to receive a donation from the Palmira community in Bonita Springs, dropped off by Jan Hankins, a Delta Gamma alumni, member of the Greater Naples Alumnae Chapter! Delta Gammas focus on vision and doing good in the community!

December Children's Clinic

We had a Christmas themed Children's clinic!

Spreading cheer to all of our little patients and seeing those happy faces is what it's all about!

The FLLEC staff and volunteers make the Clinic a warm and inviting place to be. We never pass up an opportunity to get into the holiday spirit!

New Vision!

Ms. Santiago was referred by the local hospital for retinal hemorrhaging, and she was very concerned when she came in. She has proliferative diabetic retinopathy, which was the reason for the hemorrhaging, and she had unfortunately become unemployed due to lack of vision. Upon seeing Dr. Sherman, he injected her eyes with Avastin, which reduces neo- vascularization. These new vessels become “leaky” and bleed out more than original vessels, so it was fortunate that she was able to be seen when she did. We are happy to say she is now seeing much better! Ms. Santiago came to the Clinic in December and was happy to announce she found work and is enjoying her life again all thanks to the Florida Lions Eye Clinic.

Ms. Santiago shared, “I thought I was going to stay blind, but now I can see and I feel I have recovered 100% of my vision. Thank you doctors first, thank you so much you helped a lot and now I feel so much better, I can see, I can work and I can do lots of things. Thank you God and thank all of you. You guys helped so much and now I can see and I am doing do much better with my vision.”

Eye Angel Award Recipient

The Bridge Fund

December 2022

What a special partnership we have with The Bridge Fund! We were honored to present The Eye Angel Award to a few of the most compassionate people we know. It's amazing how much of an impact in the community a group of neighbors could have.

The Bridge Fund, Bonita Springs FL was formed in 2012, and partnered with FLLEC a few years ago. They have since helped fill in the gaps to cover over $80,000 of surgery funds that were needed to ensure patients received necessary eye surgeries.

During our visit together, these amazing friends decided that The Bridge Fund was going to create a glasses pantry at FLLEC! They have generously committed to ensuring our sunglasses and readers are stocked for our patients! We are so fortunate to have these Eye Angels in our lives!

Thank you to The Bridge Fund for caring about our community, and bridging the gap for our patients!

Do you live in a community that actively volunteers in the area?

Are you part of a group or organization that needs service hours?

Call FLLEC today to partner up today!

We have a need for volunteer Spanish-English translators, Administrative Assistants, Medical/Clinic Assistants, Ophthalmic Assistants, Ophthalmologists, Retina, and Glaucoma specialists.

If you are interested in helping us meet the needs of our underserved neighbors or if you know someone who might be willing to help, please reach out to our Clinic Supervisor, Olivia Pena.

Please click here to download the volunteer form, and return it to Olivia at oliviap@fllec.com or call 239-202-0757 for more information!

Thank you for your help!

EASY SIGN UP HERE!

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE VIP TICKETS AND/OR CAR ENTRY REGISTRATION

Only 3 weeks to go!

VISION FEST:

Cruisin' for the Clinic

Sunday, January, 29, 2023

11AM-3PM

10322 Pennsylvania Ave

Bonita Springs, FL 34135

WE ARE STILL ACCEPTING ALL YEARS/ MAKES/ MODELS OF CARS/ TRUCKS/ MOTORCYCLES!!

Please reach out to Miranda Escobar 239-319-2983 or mirandae@fllec.com with any questions.

CLICK HERE TO VOLUNTEER AT VISION FEST!

A HUUUUGGGGE THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO HAS GATHERED AND DONATED ITEMS FOR OUR RAFFLE AND SILENT AUCTION! THE SELECTION IS AMAZING!!!

A special thank you to Kathy Spalti for creating these beautiful baskets to auction off... and she dropped off a bunch more since this picture was taken!!

VISION FEST INFO

Let's start the new year off getting to know each other!

Dawn Lieb, JD, RN, BSN, MSN

FLLEC President

Retired federal administrative law judge in the Departments of Health and Human Services and Social Security Administration; Juris Doctor degree from Marquette University

"The Clinic inspires me because it offers a sense of connection to my community which comes from working with others on a shared mission and purpose."

Larry DeArmond

FLLEC Treasurer

Retired CFO and partner at Catalyst Equity Group, LLC; Bachelor of Science degree, accounting and CPA Wichita State University

"The clinic inspires me to give back to society that has given me great opportunity."

Howard Freedman, MD

Co-Founder of FLLEC

Retired ophthalmologist; co-founder of the Florida Lions Eye Clinic; Medical degree specializing in ophthalmology from Harvard Medical School

"The Clinic inspires me because it is a unique venue that provides complete care, treatment, and surgery for hundreds of uninsured and low-income patients in our community who have no other access to excellent eye care."

J. Timothy Diegel, MD

FLLEC Medical Director

Retired eye surgeon at Park Nicollet Clinic in Minneapolis; USAF flight surgeon, neuro-ophthalmologist, and Colonel; semi-retired clinical professor at the University of Minnesota. Medical degree at the University of Minnesota, ophthalmology residency at Brown University, and a fellowship in neuro-ophthalmology at Boston University;

also trained at Moorfields Eye Hospital, London

"The clinic inspires me because I see how volunteerism can change people and

improve their quality of life."

Richard D. Shapiro, MD

Co-Founder of FLLEC

Retired ophthalmologist from Warren Ophthalmology Associates in Ohio; co-founder of the Florida Lions Eye Clinic; Medical degree from Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, Ophthalmology residence at Jefferson. Recipient of a Heed Fellowship, performed at Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio.

"The Clinic inspires me because I can continue treating those in need and use my years of experience to help others."

Dawn DeArmond

Retired president and CEO of Kansas Big Brothers Big Sisters; Bachelor of Science degree in sociology from Wichita State University

"The Clinic inspires me because we are giving the Gift of Sight to a population of people that need our help the most."

Richard Corea, OD

Retired Senior Staff Optometrist from Johns Hopkins University, School of Medicine; Doctor of Optometry from The Ohio State University

"The clinic inspires me because it provides care to patients that would not otherwise have access to eye care, and it does so without cost to the recipients."

Donald Meek, MD

Practice of Obstetrics and Gynecology; Senior Consultant, US Naval Hospital,

Portsmouth, VA; and Bonita Springs Lions Club, Bonita Springs, FL, 2016-present,

2nd Vice President

"The Clinic inspires me because I desire to be of service to the indigent community

and to the Lions Club."

Marilynne White, JD, MPA

Marilynne moved to the Naples area fifteen years ago from Madison, New Jersey where she was, and still continues to be, the Vice President and General Counsel for Logical Design Solutions, Inc. She holds a Juris Doctor from Georgetown University, as well as a MPA from Harvard University and a BA in Economics from Duke University.

Raj Krishna

Held leadership positions in Owens-Illinois Inc., Toledo, Ohio, a consumer packaging company. Retired now. BS in Mechanical Engineering (University of Madras, India), MS in Operations Research (Kansas State University), MBA in Finance and Marketing (Drexel University).

"The Clinic inspires me because it helps to preserve the Gift of Sight amongst the needy."

We are so proud to partner with Neighborhood Health Clinic in Naples to serve our community. Stay tuned to hear about exciting plans for the VERY NEAR future!

Amazon Smile is a simple way for you to support the Florida Lions Eye Clinic every time you shop, at no cost to you. It's easy, just enter smile.amazon.com, and Amazon will ask you to select a charity of your choice.

You’ll find the exact same low prices, selection and convenient shopping experience as Amazon.com, with the added benefit that AmazonSmile will donate 0.5% of your eligible purchases to the Florida Lions Eye Clinic. Amazon Smile is also available on the Amazon Shopping app on your phone. You can find it in the App Store for iOS or Google Play for Android.

Click here to get started!

Ophthalmic Assistant

Assists ophthalmologists and optometrists by performing ophthalmic clinical functions and eye photography. Assists with minor surgical procedures, applying aseptic techniques and preparing instruments.

Bilingual/Spanish requirement

$19.00 - $22.00 ~ part time

For more info:

Ophthalmic Assistant

Patient Care Coordinator

Welcomes patients and FLLEC visitors, performs intake process with patients, answers the telephone and promptly returns calls as needed, interfaces with volunteers and clinic staff. Ophthalmology knowledge is preferred.

Bilingual/Spanish requirement

$16.00 ~ part time

For more info:

Patient Care Coordinator