Aug. 4, 2021 — The Vision Health Alliance, a new consumer education initiative from The Vision Council, has launched its website and social media channels ahead of its first consumer campaign, slated for late August.

Vision Health Alliance was created to amplify the message of the importance of eye health as a crucial component of overall health, and eye health exams as critical to health care today.

“Over the past 15 months, consumer health care attitudes and behaviors have shifted in meaningful ways. We knew this was the right time to bring eye care and eye health to the forefront of the health care conversation and are excited to launch an impactful consumer campaign later this month,” says Jane Balek, executive director of Vision Health Alliance. “What’s really exciting about Vision Health Alliance is that, in addition to supporting consumer-facing education and awareness campaigns, the initiative will also serve as a vehicle for strategic professional and industry partnerships that will further amplify these important messages to key audiences.”

To date, Vision Health Alliance has industry support from Alcon, Eschenbach, EssilorLuxottica, Eyemart Express, Healthy Eyes Advantage, Hilco, MyEyeDr., and Shopko Optical.

“The pandemic elevated the importance of vision health as we all asked our eyes to work harder,” says Sue Downes, CEO of MyEyeDr. “All eyecare providers share a special responsibility to continue to amplify the message that vision care is a key component of health care and serves as an entry point for a lot of people into the health care system. We are proud to support Vision Health Alliance and its mission to raise awareness about the importance of an annual eye health exam.”

Companies that are interested in joining the alliance as founding partners should contact Jane Balek at jbalek@thevisioncouncil.org.

“The Vision Health Alliance initiative is critical in helping educate patients on the importance of annual eye exams and the right eyewear,” says Kirk Lauterback, COO at Shopko Optical. “We are very pleased to be partnering with Vision Health Alliance on this initiative.”

The Vision Health Alliance website currently offers education on eye health, eye conditions, and vision correction treatments; interactive actives like quizzes; and content for kids.

“For decades, the eyecare industry has talked about the need to create a campaign that would educate consumers about the role of yearly eye examinations,” says Rick Weisbarth, O.D., VP of professional affairs at Alcon. “Vision Health Alliance takes this desire to the next level by emphasizing the importance of an annual comprehensive eye exam as a critical component of overall health and well-being.”

Learn more about Vision Health Alliance via its website and on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter.