OhioSEE the Focus of Latest Healthy Perspectives Podcast

The OhioSEE program that is now providing free eye exams and eyeglasses to thousands of Ohio schoolchildren began with a conversation a few years ago between a Mahoning Valley ophthalmologist and Governor Mike DeWine and First Lady Fran DeWine.

Dr. Sergul Erzurum told the Governor and First Lady about her experiences treating children, and her discovery through a call from a local school official that even if children were screened at school and identified as needing a follow-up exam, a majority of those kids were not getting those follow-ups.

"It was an eye-opener to me," Dr. Erzurum said on the latest podcast episode of Healthy Perspectives with Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff. "I had been in this community for 20 years and thought everyone had access to care. This school taught me that access to care was more than having a doctor in the community. Access to care is a much larger problem."

Governor DeWine took that conversation and eventually turned it into OhioSEE. With $10 million awarded by the state legislature in the most recent state budget, the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) launched OhioSEE in January with a pilot program in 15 Ohio counties that had the greatest need.

Through mid-June, OhioSEE has provided nearly 1,900 eye exams and nearly 1,200 pairs of eyeglasses to students in kindergarten through third grade in those 15 counties. The services are delivered to children at their school.

"Children don't have to miss school, parents don't have to miss work," said Dr. Vanderhoff, ODH director. "Transportation, which could be an issue, is not an issue. Worries about finances aren't an issue."

OhioSEE will expand later this year with funding provided by Ohio's Rural Health Transformation Program award from the federal government.

Dr. Erzurum said she was "incredibly excited about Ohio being the leader in this."

Dr. Vanderhoff credited Governor DeWine.

"He has been the force behind all this work and progress," he said. "It wouldn't have happened without him."

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