Special to Atmore News
The Alabama Lions Sight Eye Clinic was held in the Mayson Auditorium of Atmore Community Hospital on November 22. The clinic is usually held at the Health Department parking lot in a mobile van, but that vehicle was destroyed in an accident and the clinic had to move to an inside location. Approximately 20 people were seen and had eye exams and prescriptions for glasses which will arrive at their homes in two weeks. Atmore Lions Patty Davis, Renee Hardy, Katrinka Philips, Mike von Keyserling, Bub Gideons, and Nancy Karrick assisted with the clinic.
The Lions Eye Sight Clinic is staffed by qualified doctors and other personnel and the same equipment is used that is used in brick and mortar offices.
When a patient arrives, they are checked in at registration and given a one-page form to complete with basic communication information and some personal data. They are then passed on to the person in charge of giving the first eye test, that of reading the eye chart. This is used to check vision at the broadest level. Once that information is collected, patients are asked to choose frames and are given a large selection of both metal and plastic ones from which to make their selection.
The next station is a scan of the eye to check the pressure. The machine tells if the person is near- or far-sighted and gives a prescription to correct the issue. Eyes are then dilated. The prescription which was given earlier is loaded on another machine and the doctor checks to see if that is clearing up the problem. If it is not, adjustments are made until the patient can see clearly. Tests are also given to check for glaucoma and cataracts. Before the patient leaves, Dr. Daum makes a final check to be sure the frames will be the correct size and shape for the lens prescribed and that the patient can see well. Glasses will arrive at the patient’s home in approximately two weeks.
Atmore Lions helped with unloading and loading supplies and equipment, setting up the room, registration, escorting patients from one station to another, and being sure each person whose eyes were dilated left wearing a pair of sunglasses to protect the dilated eyes from the bright sun.
While working at registration, we often heard patients say they were 65 years old, or older, and had never had an eye exam before. We had patients who suffered eye damage as a result of a stroke or disease, and many who just said they couldn’t see well. The end result was that most of them receive corrective glasses. In some cases, patients are referred to specialists in certain types of eye problems where they can get the help they need. Helping this kind of patient is one of the things the local Lions Clubs assist in getting accomplished. The mobile Alabama Lions Sight Eye Clinic is just another way the Atmore Lions Club lives up to its motto, “We Serve.”