Since 2007, Combat Blindness International has partnered with UW Health and the University of Wisconsin Madison Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences within the School of Medicine and Public Health to provide service to Dane County residents that are underinsured, or uninsured, and needing eye care. Patients screened at pre-approved clinics can be referred to our every-other-month, Saturday clinic. They are provided with a full eye exam with refraction and dilation, as well as screening for common eye diseases by our doctors, residents and technicians.
Annually, almost 150 patients are seen at our Right To Sight Clinic in Madison. The Right to Sight World Sight Day Clinic serves about 60 people in one day and the regularly scheduled UW Free Community Eye Clinics serve an average of 15 patients on a given Saturday morning every other month.
This partnership is the only one of its kind with Combat Blindness International in the US and our clinical staff is honored to be a part of their mission, while also providing critical eye care to people in and around Madison that need it most.
Bonnie Verges has been tagged as the Technician Champion for the Right to Sight Clinic. Bonnie, along with Beth Pelar and Mary Feuerherd, have been active in the clinic for many years. This core team of technicians coordinates clinic operations, optical needs and referrals to other sub-specialists, in addition to giving of their personal time on the weekend. It’s that kind of dedication to helping people see that is exemplified throughout our UW Health Eye Clinics.
“Each one of us understands how important vision is to everything you do in life, so identifying vision loss and reversing it when possible is our focus,” says Anna Momont, MD, oversees the free clinics. “We are able to see immediate effects from our care when patients walk out of the clinics with the ability to clearly see a family member’s face, or their post-visit paperwork, or the art on the walls – we are motivated by our patients, no matter how they get to us, and want to help them see their world.”
Learn more about Combat Blindness International and let us know if you would like to get involved by emailing: savingsight@wisc.edu