LAWRENCE CO. — The four Lawrence County Lions Club members—Bedford, Bedford Noon, Mitchell, and Fayetteville Community—have recently wrapped up their 11th year of providing free vision screenings through the Operation KidSight program. This year, volunteers screened 391 children at 19 local preschools and childcare facilities, offering valuable eye care services at no cost to the children, parents, or facilities.
Participating locations included North Lawrence Playful Pathways Preschool, St. Vincent Preschool and Kindergarten, Dive Christian Preschool, Calvary Lutheran Preschool, Free Methodist Preschool, In His Hands Preschool at Old Union Church, Crossroads Daycare Ministries, JC’s Christian Preschool and Kindergarten, Restoration Child Care & Preschool, Hatfield Preschool, Tiny Persimmon Preschool, Lollipop and Rainbows Preschool, Grace Childcare Ministries, Lawrence County Independent Schools Kindergarten, Stone City Christian Kindergarten, Where Futures Begin Preschool, Springville Community Academy Kindergarten, Counting Futures Preschool, and Cornerstone Preschool.
The screenings are conducted using the PlusOptix S12 camera system, introduced in 2021 after the Bedford Lions received a matching grant from the Lawrence County Community Foundation to help fund the purchase. This innovative system allows for quick, non-invasive screenings by taking a digital picture of a child’s eyes from a distance of 3 feet. An invisible infrared light projects through the pupils onto the retinas, and the system analyzes the reflected light to detect refractive errors, including nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism, lazy eye, eye misalignment, and imbalance between the eyes.
The results are reviewed by Operation KidSight staff in Indianapolis, and any children who require further examination are referred to an ophthalmologist or optometrist. This year, 28 children were referred for additional eye care.
Lions volunteers emphasized the importance of early vision screenings, as many children with vision problems may not realize they have difficulty seeing. Catching eye issues early can often lead to complete correction, especially when treatment begins during the critical early years of development. Early intervention improves the likelihood of successful treatment and makes it more affordable and less invasive.
Operation KidSight continues to play a crucial role in ensuring that children in Lawrence County receive the eye care they need to thrive in school and beyond.
Organized into teams of 5 to 12 trained volunteers, visited area schools working closely with school principals and nurses to complete the 2024 State of Indiana-required vision screenings for 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 8th-grade students.
