Penn State Health teams up with Vision to Learn mobile eye clinic
Gabriella Asadi’s school year is off to a much better start, thanks to the free vision testing and glasses she’s getting from the Vision to Learn mobile eye clinic that visited Steelton-Highspire Elementary School last week.
“Gabriella was telling me she had headaches, and she couldn’t see the board at school,” said Adamaris Delgado, the 8-year-old girl’s mother. “I had no idea what might be wrong.”
Just as her mother was considering what to do, a letter came in the mail telling about the Vision Van visit. “I read the letter and thought, “This is exactly what I need!” Delgado said.
Several days later, Gabriella was inside the van, getting a vision test and picking colorful frames for the lenses that will bring her world back into focus.
Penn State Health coordinated the effort to bring the Vision to Learn mobile eye clinic to Steelton-Highspire School District so that children like Gabriella and her 9-year-old brother Xavier, who found out he needs reading glasses, can do better in school and in life.
Statistics say 88% of children’s learning is obtained through vision – when children can see well, they can be more successful at school.
More than 70 students received free eye exams from Penn State Health, Steelton-Highspire School nurses and the Vision to Learn staff that included an optometrist and optician. Fifty-six students will receive free glasses, delivered to them at their school.
The van was secured with funding from the Association of Clinicians for the Underserved.
“Gabriella tells me, ‘Mommy, I cannot wait for my glasses because I’ll be able to see!’ She is so excited,” her mom says. “Penn State Health changed her life and my life too – because when my daughter is happier, I am happier.”
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