Prevent Blindness and the National Center for Children’s Vision and Eye Health Announce Recipient of First Annual 2015 Bonnie Strickland Champion for Children’s Vision Award
– Award Presented to The Pediatric Physicians’ Organization at Boston Children’s Hospital (PPOC)-
CHICAGO (Aug. 6, 2015)– Prevent Blindness, the nation’s oldest volunteer eye health and safety organization, and the National Center for Children’s Vision and Eye Health at Prevent Blindness (NCCVEH) announced today the recipient of the first-ever “Bonnie Strickland Champion for Children’s Vision Award.” This year’s selected recipient is The Pediatric Physicians’ Organization at Children’s (PPOC) based at Boston Children’s Hospital.
The Award recognizes significant efforts to improve public health for children’s vision and eye health at the state or national level. The award was established in 2014 by the Advisory Committee of the NCCVEH to commemorate Bonnie Strickland and her groundbreaking work to establish a comprehensive system for children’s vision in the United States. The award will be presented at the Annual Meeting of the NCCVEH, Aug. 7-8, 2015 in Alexandria, Va.
“In 1908, Prevent Blindness was founded to protect children’s vision. Through the efforts of dedicated individuals, like those at PPOC and across the country, we are working to make a positive difference in saving sight for our kids,” said Hugh R. Parry, president and CEO of Prevent Blindness.
The PPOC was selected by the Bonnie Strickland Champion for Children’s Vision Award Committee for its consistent and on-going commitment to introducing proven and innovative new approaches to pediatric vision screening and care.
Highlighted activities included:
- increasing provider awareness and competency
- creating policy change related to referrals to eye examinations
- providing staff the resources required to support new policy and practice
- developing electronic surveillance mechanisms to inform practice
- implementing a clinical trial to test new technology in the practice setting and
- including a parent/guardian survey to inform future practice while increasing family awareness of the importance of monitoring vision development during childhood.
“Through this comprehensive, mission-driven program, we incorporate a variety of innovative methods to ensure that all children in our community of care are put on the path to a lifetime of healthy vision,” said Gregory Young, President and CEO of PPOC. “We are dedicated to optimizing and standardizing care processes across PPOC to ensure that we efficiently and effectively identify children in need of advanced vision care. We thank Prevent Blindness and the NCCVEH for this award and look forward to collaborating in the future to expand our successful strategy to other communities across Massachusetts and the country.”
For more information on the 2015 Bonnie Strickland Champion for Children’s Vision Award, Prevent Blindness or the NCCVEH, please visit http://nationalcenter.preventblindness.org/, or contact Kira Baldonado at (800) 331-2020 or [email protected].
About the PPOC
The PPOC is an independent practice association affiliated with Boston Children’s Hospital that is made up of more than 300 providers in over 80 privately-owned pediatric primary care practices in Eastern Massachusetts. Collectively, PPOC providers care for more than 400,000 children and perform over 1,000,000 office visits annually. The PPOC’s mission is to provide the highest quality of care to the patients and families it serves.
About Prevent Blindness and its National Center for Children’s Vision and Eye Health
Founded in 1908, Prevent Blindness is the nation’s leading volunteer eye health and safety organization dedicated to fighting blindness and saving sight. Focused on promoting a continuum of vision care, Prevent Blindness touches the lives of millions of people each year through public and professional education, advocacy, certified vision screening and training, community and patient service programs and research. In 2009, Prevent Blindness established the National Center for Children’s Vision and Eye Health, with funding and leadership support from the HRSA- Maternal and Child Health Bureau. Serving as a major resource for the establishment of a public health infrastructure, the National Center advances and promotes children’s vision and eye care, providing leadership and training to public entities throughout the United States. The National Center is advised by a committee of national experts and leaders from the fields of ophthalmology, optometry, pediatrics, nursing, family advocates and public health to guide the work and recommendations of the Center. For more information, or to make a contribution to the sight-saving fund, call 1-800-331-2020. Or, visit us on the Web at www.preventblindness.orgor www.facebook.com/preventblindness.
Download a copy of the Champion for Chldren’s Vision Award
