Dec. 7, 2023 — InfantSEE has announced a collaboration with the American Optometric Association (AOA) in an upcoming campaign focused on pediatric eye health, designed to remedy issues resulting from the pandemic, such as more screen time and less access to community resources found in traditional school environments.
 
Managed by Optometry Cares – The AOA Foundation and supported by Johnson & Johnson Vision, InfantSEE provides no-cost, comprehensive eye and vision health assessments for infants—a program dedicated to ensuring eye and vision care become an integral part of infant wellness care with the goal of improving a child’s quality of life.
 
To demonstrate the value of the InfantSEE exam and encourage the next wave of optometrists to get involved, InfantSEE hosted a series of events, including two workshops at Optometry’s Meeting, where AOA president Ronald L. Benner, O.D., announced the Call for National Pediatric Eye Health and Vision Mobilization. This initiative is set to take place over multiple years and aims to close the gap in children’s eye health and vision care through the following objectives:
 

• Advocate on the federal level for policies and programs that ensure children get the eye care they need and deserve.
• Help expand federal- and state-level advocacy efforts and guide policy decisions by assimilating evidence and creating a playbook.
• Address access to care, especially in underserved communities.
• Raise public awareness and educate stakeholders and the public about children’s eye and vision health and access to eye care.

 
“This generation and the next are facing an unprecedented challenge that can only be addressed through innovative and impactful vision care,” says Jennifer Zolman, FCOVD, chair of the AOA InfantSEE and Children’s Vision Committee. “InfantSEE has demonstrated success [by not only] providing essential care to children but also offering parents the education and resources they need—ultimately setting an example of how doctors of optometry can effect change in children’s lives.”
 
Since its inception in 2005, the initiative has provided 170,000 assessments, enabling more than 14,000 children to begin treatment and potentially avoid a lifetime of vision complications after receiving diagnoses ranging from amblyopia and strabismus to retinoblastomas. Currently, there are more than 4,200 participating InfantSEE providers, 10% of which are recent graduates.