Lifesight

TO PROTECT AND PRESERVE VISION AND RESTORE SIGHT FOR PEOPLE OF THE NORTHERN PLAINS.

FOLLOWING A YEAR OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, NORTHERN PLAINS EYE FOUNDATION (NPEF) LAUNCHED NORTHERN PLAINS EYE FOUNDATION WESTERN SOUTH DAKOTA LIONS CHILDREN'S VISION SCREENING INITIATIVE (CVSI) IN MAY 2012, SUPPORTED BY A STRATEGIC GROUP OF COLLABORATIVE PARTNERS INCLUDING AREA EYE CARE PROFESSIONALS AND LOCAL LIONS CLUBS. WHILE ONLY AN EYE CARE PROFESSIONAL CAN DIAGNOSE AND TREAT A VISION PROBLEM, VISION SCREENINGS IDENTIFY CHILDREN WITH UNDETECTED VISION PROBLEMS WHO ARE IN NEED OF A COMPLETE EYE EXAM. THROUGH CVSI, CHILDREN FROM 6 MONTHS OF AGE THROUGH 5TH GRADE ACROSS THE BLACK HILLS REGION HAVE ACCESS TO FREE VISION SCREENINGS. THE CVSI SCREENINGS ARE ADMINISTERED UTILIZING SPOT PHOTOSCREENING TECHNOLOGY, A NON-INVASIVE APPROACH TO OBTAIN COMPREHENSIVE, ACCURATE VISION SCREENING RESULTS, IN ORDER TO PROVIDE EARLY DETECTION OF POOR VISION OR RISK FACTORS BY WAY OF UNIFORM SCREENING PROCESSES THAT LEAD TO TIMELY DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT. CVSI VISION SCREENING RESULTS ARE PROVIDED TO PARENTS OF ALL CHILDREN SCREENED AND INDICATE EITHER NO ADDITIONAL FOLLOW-UP IS REQUIRED OR A COMPLETE EYE EXAM BY AN EYE CARE PROFESSIONAL IS RECOMMENDED. IN THE CASE OF CHILDREN RECOMMENDED FOR A COMPLETE EYE EXAM, ADDITIONAL INFORMATION IS PROVIDED ABOUT WHY THE CHILD IS BEING REFERRED TO AN EYE CARE PROFESSIONAL, THE MEANING OF EYE CONDITIONS IDENTIFIED ON THE SCREENING RESULT, AND A LIST OF EYE CARE PROFESSIONALS IN THE REGION. THOUGH SCREENING EVENTS WERE CANCELLED IN SPRING 2020 DUE TO COVID-19, AS OF MAY 2021, ALMOST 36,000 CVSI FREE VISION SCREENINGS HAVE BEEN ADMINISTERED SINCE PROGRAM INCEPTION. FROM THOSE, 4,346 CHILDREN (12%), WHOSE RESULTS IDENTIFIED POTENTIAL RISK FACTORS THAT INHIBIT PROPER VISION DEVELOPMENT, HAVE BEEN REFERRED FOR A COMPREHENSIVE EYE EXAM. WITH CVSI EARLY DETECTION, EFFECTIVE TREATMENT IS USUALLY POSSIBLE. IF LEFT UNTREATED, CHILDREN ARE AT RISK OF PERMANENT VISION LOSS, AFFECTING, AMONG OTHER THINGS, ISSUES SUCH AS CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT, ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT, AND HIGH SCHOOL DROP-OUT RATES. BEGINNING IN THE FALL OF 2014, NPEF WAS AFFORDED THE OPPORTUNITY TO ENGAGE A 4TH YEAR MEDICAL STUDENT AT THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH DAKOTA SANFORD SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AND A PARTNERING OPTOMETRIC INTERN FROM THE ILLINOIS COLLEGE OF OPTOMETRY IN A RESEARCH PROJECT RELATED TO NPEF'S CVSI. THE RESEARCH PROJECT CULMINATED IN THE PUBLICATION OF A MANUSCRIPT ENTITLED, "RESULTS OF A PEDIATRIC VISION SCREENING PROGRAM IN WESTERN SOUTH DAKOTA" IN THE MARCH 2015 EDITION OF SOUTH DAKOTA MEDICINE, THE SOUTH DAKOTA STATE MEDICAL ASSOCIATION MEDICAL JOURNAL. SINCE THAT TIME, NPEF CONTINUES TO ENGAGE MEDICAL STUDENTS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH DAKOTA SANFORD SCHOOL OF MEDICINE IN ONGOING VOLUNTEER RESEARCH PROJECTS, MANY OF THE PROJECTS RELATED TO CVSI. SUBSEQUENT RESEARCH PROJECT PAPERS PUBLISHED IN SOUTH DAKOTA MEDICINE INCLUDE "CHILDHOOD VISION SCREENING IN WESTERN SOUTH DAKOTA: EXAMINING BARRIERS TO POST-VISION SCREENING FOLLOW-UP REFERRAL" IN JANUARY 2017, "AN EVALUATION OF SPOT SCREENING EFFICACY FOR CHILDREN IN SOUTH DAKOTA" IN MAY 2018, AND "A REVIEW OF CHILDHOOD VISION SCREENING LAWS AND PROGRAMS ACROSS THE UNITED STATES" IN JULY 2019. A FIFTH RESEARCH PROJECT WAS COMPLETED IN 2020 AND SUBMITTED FOR PUBLICATION IN THE JOURNAL OF PEDIATRIC OPHTHALMOLOGY & STRABISMUS (JPOS), ENTITLED, "MULTI-CLINIC EVALUATION OF THE SPOT PHOTOSCREENER'S EFFICACY FOR DETECTING AMBLYOPIA RISK FACTORS AS COMPARED TO SAME-DAY OPTOMETRISTS' EXAMINATIONS IN 305 WESTERN SOUTH DAKOTA CHILDREN." THOUGH JPOS DECLINED THE MANUSCRIPT, REVIEWER COMMENTS WERE PROVIDED AND, BASED ON THIS FEEDBACK, THE MANUSCRIPT WAS RE-WRITTEN AND PUBLISHED IN JULY 2021 IN THE NEW UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH DAKOTA MEDICAL JOURNAL, AESCULAPIUS JOURNAL (HEALTH SCIENCES AND MEDICINE).

GIFT OF SIGHT, A CHARITABLE PROGRAM LAUNCHED IN 2008 AS CHRISTMAS GIFT OF SIGHT, AWARDS SIGHT-SAVING SURGERY TO INDIVIDUALS WITHOUT THE FINANCIAL MEANS TO AFFORD THE NECESSARY CARE. IN 2015, NPEF EXPANDED ITS CHRISTMAS GIFT OF SIGHT PROGRAM FROM ANNUAL TO SEMI-ANNUAL SURGERY AWARDS, AND DUE TO THIS, IN 2017, RENAMED THE PROGRAM "GIFT OF SIGHT." IN 2018, THE GIFT OF SIGHT SERVICE AREA WAS EXPANDED FROM EYE CARE CLINICS AND THEIR PATIENTS IN THE BLACK HILLS, TO INCLUDE EYE CARE CLINICS AND THEIR PATIENTS LOCATED EAST OF RAPID CITY, IN THE MOBRIDGE, PIERRE, WINNER, AND CHADRON COMMUNITIES. SINCE ITS INCEPTION, NPEF AND ITS PROGRAM PARTNERS HAVE PROVIDED 92 SIGHT-SAVING SURGERIES THROUGH GIFT OF SIGHT, HELPING THOSE UNDERSERVED IN OUR COMMUNITY REGAIN THEIR VISION, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, INDEPENDENCE, MOBILITY AND QUALITY OF LIFE.

OUR NEWEST PROGRAM, VISIONCARE, FOR WHICH THE PILOT LAUNCHED AT THE END OF 2019, FOCUSES ON GIVING ACCESS TO NO-COST EYE EXAMS AND GLASSES, CRITICAL TO ONE'S OVERALL HEALTH AND WELLBEING, TO PEOPLE WITH NO OTHER OPTION FOR CARE, PROVIDING A SIMPLE BUT POWERFUL PATH TO HELPING PEOPLE SEE BETTER TO LIVE BETTER. SEE SCHEDULE I PART IV FOR MORE INFORMATION.

1)RESEARCH, IN CONJUNCTION WITH CVSI AS DESCRIBED IN THE LAST PARAGRAPH OF 4A 2)NORTHERN PLAINS EYE FOUNDATION DR. PAUL L. ZIMMERMAN MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP ENDOWMENT ESTABLISHED WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH DAKOTA FOUNDATION, AWARDS A SCHOLARSHIP TO A FOURTH YEAR UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH DAKOTA SANFORD SCHOOL OF MEDICINE STUDENT WITH EXPRESSED INTEREST IN OPHTHALMOLOGY 3)RESEARCH STUDY ON NEEDS ASSESSMENT OF LOCAL COMMUNITY-BASED EYE CARE, LAUNCHED IN OCTOBER 2020 WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF TWO USD SANFORD SCHOOL OF MEDICINE OPHTHALMOLOGY STUDENTS IN PARTNERSHIP WITH COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTER OF THE BLACK HILLS 4)SOUTH DAKOTA OPTOMETRIC SOCIETY EXHIBIT/SPONSORSHIP 5)NEWSLETTER 6)WORKPLACE VISION WELLNESS 7)RESOURCE CENTER FOR EYE-RELATED INFORMATION/NEEDS