Subscribe
Share
Share
Embed
The mission of Prevent Blindness Texas is to prevent blindness and preserve sight. We are leaders and change agents in the eye health space here to empower you!
Welcome to EyeSpiring with Prevent Blindness Texas. We are inspiring a brighter vision and I'm your host Heather Patrick, Prevent Blindness Texas CEO. We are so glad you're with us and are excited to be launching our podcast. The mission of Prevent Blindness Texas is to prevent blindness and preserve sight. Our vision is vision, making healthy eyes a priority in Texas.
Heather Patrick:We wanted to host this podcast to have a space to discuss eye health, overall health, leadership and how important community is. We want to inspire you to be bold in taking care of your health and making vision a priority in your life. We will talk about health, challenges, best practices, vision, leaders in the space, trends, vision loss, community, support networks and the connection of vision that brings us all together. We are leaders and change agents in the Eye Health space here to empower you. Make sure you subscribe today so you don't miss an episode.
Heather Patrick:And allow me to start by sharing who Prevent Blindness Texas is. For almost seventy years, Prevent Blindness Texas has provided critical vision care to Texas' most vulnerable citizens by providing early detection screening services, eye health education, navigation services, and financial resources for things like exams, glasses, and other treatment needs. We focus on vulnerable and underserved populations most at risk for possible vision problems. Last year, Prevent Blindness Texas served over 50,000 individuals and educated more than 80,000 people. We work to build strong continuum of care in each community we serve so that all children and adults have improved equity to access quality eye care.
Heather Patrick:We know that vision critically impacts learning and development, mobility, independence, and health. We advocate for the necessary attention and solutions to issues surrounding the aging eye and we define success when all individuals who need eye care receive it. Our work improves the health and quality of life for thousands of individuals across the state. Truly though we are connectors. We connect people to care, to each other, to information, to providers, and most importantly, to hope.
Heather Patrick:We approach the work through three different lenses. Awareness. This encompasses delivering education information, presentations, campaigns to drive behavior changes, and to take specific action to take care of one's individual eye health and overall health. Compiling data and sharing our findings, creative effective messaging, increasing significant engagement at all different levels, connecting vision to overall health at every opportunity, creating ambassadors and advocates, and convening stakeholders to regularly identify issues and discuss interventions.
Heather Patrick:We will increase the number of individuals trained and certified to deliver educational information and to be vision screeners. Educational messaging will center on moving people to action and not just informing. We will work to increase awareness and understanding of overall eye safety, importance of regular eye exams, connection between vision loss and mental health, ocular health complications from chronic health issues, and how certain medications can impact vision.
Heather Patrick:Access. Prevent Blindness Texas will focus on collecting data and understanding the barriers that prevent individuals from getting eye care. We will then build or improve the mission delivery framework to break down those barriers to improve the likelihood that individuals will access the continuum and understand why they need to. We will provide necessary resources including financial and human resources to help move clients through the continuum of care.
Heather Patrick:And advocacy: We will focus on building an advocacy infrastructure with a focus on patient and parent advocacy related to health equity and access. We will continue to work with partners at the state and federal levels to ensure funding is available for vision care and that there is an appropriate infrastructure to collect necessary data to understand the depth of vision issues for those we serve.
Heather Patrick:Now that you know a little bit about Prevent Blindness Texas, I'd like to share a little bit about me. When I was in grade, I failed the eye screening in school. I had no idea I needed glasses nor did my parents. I still remember the day I got my glasses because I remember saying to my mom, I can see all the leaves on the trees. I never knew what they looked like individually. Today, without my glasses or contacts, I can't see the big E. At 40, I had to start using readers. Today I wear progressives. I keep my glasses in the same spot every night just in case because I know in an emergency, I can't see without them.
Heather Patrick:I personally know how important vision is and still don't know all there is to know related to vision health. But I know I am committed to helping people understand how important it is and how to access the care they need. I can't imagine what my life would have been like without having access get the vision care I needed. I can't imagine not being able to drive, work, read, live independently or see my children's faces. But for those that experience vision loss, these can be the barriers they face. I have spent over twenty years in the healthcare nonprofit space and for me one thing that threads through each organization disease, cause is the need to help people advocate for what they need and to simplify an overly complicated health system.
Heather Patrick:Eye health is important to me because it truly does provide insight into so many different components of our health and because it impacts our ability to learn and connect. No child should have to struggle to learn simply because they need a pair of glasses. And yet thousands of children do every year. It is important to me because as we age I want to be part of the solution that provides us mobility and independence as long as possible. It is important to me because I feel like it is still a solvable problem and we can all be part of the solution. We can still change the trajectory of vision loss in a significant way before it becomes an epidemic.
Heather Patrick:I came to PBT because I felt called to do this work. This organization provides so much support across the state and it truly makes a difference for the thousands of people we serve. The people that serve this mission are dedicated and passionate. Plus the work is interesting and I think together we can help save and improve vision for thousands of people. I also think it is our responsibility to be a voice in the communities we serve to advocate for better options to access care. I stay because of the clients, our board, volunteers, staff, partners, and donors. The people who touch my life on a daily basis are inspiring and remind me of how important our work is for so many. I am passionate about Prevent Blindness Texas mission to prevent blindness and preserve sight.
Heather Patrick:Prevent Blindness Texas will move our mission forward by standing firm on our three core values. The first is personal and organizational accountability. The willingness to continually learn in the pursuit of relentless improvement and the openness to hold each other responsible to perform at the highest level we can. Next is stewardship. Consistent and thoughtful engagement with all organizational stakeholders focused on building deep and meaningful relationships that center on trust. And last, but certainly not least, is Empowerment fostering an environment of courage, leadership, and respect.
Heather Patrick:I believe cultures make or break an organization. Values guide our work, how we treat our clients, each other, our donors. It reminds us every day why we do this work and the kind of experience we want people to have with Prevent Blindness Texas and each of us individually. We live these values and it has to be reflected in all we do. We achieve consistent success of leading with our core values by living our culture keys daily. The Prevent Blindness Texas culture keys are community minded. Our mission is to prevent blindness and preserve sight. We do this by bringing access, awareness, and advocacy to our communities across the state. By being a clear communicator, we take the initiative to solve problems directly by addressing issues early before they escalate to misunderstandings.
Heather Patrick:Legacy Our greater purpose is to build an organization that will thrive and has the fortitude to withstand turbulent times. Committed Our commitment is to serve and enable our community. We maintain a flexible mindset. We bend but don't break. Collaborative. We solve problems through working together to create solutions in our community. Results driven. We believe preparedness and having a plan contribute to our ability to accomplish our goals. Integrity led we strive to serve our clients and community with excellence across everything that we do. And transparent everything begins with a foundation of trust and respect.
Heather Patrick:For me, anchoring in these culture keys and values serves as a roadmap for the organization. We are here to serve the community and invest in solutions that make life better for the people we serve. Again, we are Prevent Blindness Texas and our mission is to prevent blindness and preserve sight. Make sure you subscribe to our podcast, Eyespiring, inspiring a brighter vision with Prevent Blindness Texas CEO Heather Patrick.
Heather Patrick:Now that you know more about who we are and what we stand for, I'd like to share more about our goals. Prevent Blindness Texas is focused on advocating for improved health equity, empowering children, adults and seniors to experience life at the highest level, and improving overall health including physical and mental health by preventing vision loss and addressing eye health issues across the entire health spectrum.
Heather Patrick:There are two important issues we want to solve. First thousands of individuals do not have access to quality or timely eye care in the state of Texas. Prevent Blindness Texas believes this is a significant issue and that everyone should have to eye care. Second millions of people do not understand the critical connection between vision and overall health. That's right, taking care of your eyes also benefits your overall health. Some health conditions such as diabetes and a high blood pressure can affect your eyes at the initial stage, and actually all the way through the disease. An eye exam could tell you and your doctor if there are underlying health conditions that need attention.
Heather Patrick:Our programs are designed to develop more knowledgeable individuals on signs and symptoms of vision issues and eye health problems, to increase early detection of vision issues, to increase the number of people accessing appropriate quality eye care in a timely manner, and to decrease vision and eye health issues related to chronic diseases. We know that if we can increase the number of children screened and accessing follow-up services, we can help increase literacy and academic achievement. Our long term goals are preservation of sight, prevention of vision loss, and improving health equity for all individuals, especially vulnerable populations. We know we must elevate eye health as a critical component of the overall health conversation and health care planning.
Heather Patrick:When I first started seven years ago, we served about 13,000 people across the state. Now we serve almost 60,000. And the demand for services continues to grow each year. I joined this organization because vision and health are incredibly important to me and because this is a solvable problem we can impact significantly right now. If more people understood the connection between health and vision, I think there would be a different sense of urgency to solve this problem.
Heather Patrick:We have the largest aging and diabetic populations ever. Both age and chronic disease impact vision. For example, in San Antonio, the rate of type two diabetes is sixteen percent, which is six percentage points higher than the national average. The leading cause of blindness in working adults is diabetic retinopathy. We must do more to intervene to stop this from becoming an epidemic.
Heather Patrick:In the state of Texas there are over 5,000,000 students. Mandatory screening is required in the state, but even with that more than fifty percent of students identified with issues still can't get services. This translates to thousands of children not being able to see correctly. Seventy percent of the parents we surveyed across the state say cost is an issue to get care. We must change this.
Heather Patrick:If children can't see, it negatively affects their learning and development. More than twenty five percent of the people we screen have never had an eye exam. We are the first point of entry for them into the vision care continuum and for some of them into the health care continuum.
Heather Patrick:Over the past two and a half years in one of our communities, we have screened over 2,500 adults and fifty six percent of them were in households that had an income less than $13,000. Without Prevent Blindness Texas, they would not get the eye care services they need. We have had clients who have found out they have had diabetes and hypertension through our program. Our screening programs are saving people's vision and changing their lives every day.
Heather Patrick:Our bold dream at Prevent Blindness Texas is to ensure and advocate for everyone having access to quality eye care in a timely manner, that each person understands the critical connection between overall health and eye care, and knows how to access the resources they need to take care of their vision and health. We connect people to care, education, and resources. But what we really do is bring hope and dreams back to those that are struggling with accessing vision care and dealing with vision loss. We are unique in that we serve the whole state and can close the gaps along the entire continuum of care in each and every community we serve.
Heather Patrick:Collaboration and partnership make the difference, as do our volunteers. We have a staff of nine to serve the whole state, so we are always looking for volunteers to support us in a number of ways out in the community, at our events, or even serving on our board. Our funding comes from all different sources including grants, corporate support, special events, and individual giving. We always need people to support us, engage with us, volunteer with us, and carry our message forward.
Heather Patrick:Now let's chat a little about how Prevent Blindness Texas serves Texans. We work with community partners to provide vision screenings and free eye exams and or glasses to those that otherwise could not afford them. Through strategic partnerships, we are able to connect our clients to appropriate eye care.
Heather Patrick:Community is vital to Prevent Blindness Texas mission and with the assistance of our community partners Prevent Blindness Texas clients can improve their vision and quality of life. Our team provides a variety of resources for our communities such as adult vision screenings, children's vision screenings, educational outreach programs, site for student programs, and our Healthy Eyes eyeglasses program just to name a few.
Heather Patrick:Our website is another powerful resource you should check out. At preventblindnesstexas.org we provide educational information on eye diseases to connect you to information so you can make an informed decision about your next steps towards better vision as well as share assets to connect you to vision services, assist with vision benefits and walk you through the process to connect you to the eye health resources you need.
Heather Patrick:Did you know you can become a part of the Prevent Blindness Texas community by volunteering with us, becoming a vision screener, attending one of our many events, or by becoming a PBT patron by making an online donation? We couldn't do what we do without the support of individuals like you. If you are so inclined to join us as a PBT patron, your donation today will fund outreach to people at the highest risk of vision loss. It will support quality vision screenings for preschool, school age children and adults, and as well as provide access to professional eye care for low income families around Texas.
Heather Patrick:Your donation will fund advocacy and research toward the goal of helping more Texans enjoy the gift of sight for a lifetime. Thank you so much for spending your time with us today. We appreciate each of you. Don't forget to subscribe to Eyespiring with Prevent Blindness Texas.