May 24, 2023 — Registration is now open for the 12th annual Prevent Blindness Focus on Health Summit, a virtual interactive event set to take place July 12-13. A variety of presentations will showcase diverse voices in discissions about vision health as it relates to public health, challenges in fostering equitable access to eye care, new collaborations across stakeholders, and opportunities to strengthen public health policies, practices, and research advancement.
 
Highlighting the theme “Why the Eye,” the global event will offer access to presentations; an exhibitor hall; educational materials, videos, and toolkits; and in-platform opportunities for networking and collaboration.
 
Kicking off the event on July 12, Neil M. Bressler, M.D., a John Hopkins Medicine professor of ophthalmology and editor-in-chief of JAMA Ophthalmology, will deliver the keynote presentation, “Advances in Eye Care and the Impact on the Patient.” Other opening-day presentations include “Making an Impact with the Stories We Tell” and “Reimagining How We Engage Communities from Identification into Care—Children and Adults.” Finally, Prevent Blindness board of directors chair Jim McGrann will formally present the 2023 Jenny Pomeroy Award for Excellence in Vision and Public Health and the Rising Visionary Award to Dean A. VanNasdale, OD, Ph.D., Christina Ambrosino, respectively.
 
With a focus on mental health and vision, the second day will begin with a keynote presentation to address and share actionable steps for integrating mental health into the eyecare community, “Innovative Mental Health Approaches,” by Julian Eaton, BSc, MSc, MBBS, MRCPsych, mental health director of CBM Global and assistant professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Other presentations include “Forum on the Public Health Connection Between Mental Wellness and Vision” and “Policy Opportunities and Obstacles Around Vision and Mental Wellness.”
 
“Every year, the Focus on Eye Health Summit convenes exceptional individuals who generously share their expertise, passion, and dedication to improve vision and eye health for all,” says Jeff Todd, president and CEO of Prevent Blindness. “As we enter our 115th year of public health and patient advocacy, we encourage everyone to join us to collaborate, innovate, and work collectively in order to achieve better vision health outcomes for generations to come.”
 
For more information: preventblindness.org.