Harriman Lions perform student vision screenings

Roane County Schools has a partnership with the Harriman Lions Club for the benefit of young students.

Bill Wimmer, foreground, Jerry Hardin, left, and Jim Yankie are among the Harriman Lions Club members who annually screen Roane County students for vision problems.

More than 200 public school pre-K and kindergarten students who returned permission slips received free vision photoscreening as a service from Lions Club members.  

The screening process is done with a special camera that enables specialists from the Eye Center at Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital to see possible future eye problems.

The screening process has an 85- to 90-percent accuracy rate.

This non-invasive testing can pre-diagnose problematic eye issues including lazy eye, cross eyes, astigmatism, cataracts, farsightedness, nearsightedness and drooping eyelids.  

The testing process is ideal for children younger than 6 because development of the eyes beyond that point hinders correct diagnosis.

Intervening with corrective eyeglasses or other recommended steps at this early age proves to be beneficial to the children.

Adults are often unaware of visual difficulties at that age, and these difficulties are not noticed until they have progressed into a more pronounced stage.  

Screening results will be sent to school nurses for distribution to parents/guardians.

Patti Wells, the system’s school health coordinator, said she appreciates Harriman Lions Club members for their care, concern and assistance.

She expressed a special thank you to Lions Club member Bill Wimmer for working with the schools and organizing the volunteers who visited each of Roane County’s eight elementary schools and the Head Start/preschool at Midtown Education Center.

Plans are now under way for next school year’s screening process in September.  

Screening early in the school year allows for more students to be tested before they turn 6. This allows the detection of possible eye problems earlier in the year and avoids weather-related issues, such as those which forced the postponement of this year’s screening.

Contact Wells at pawells@roaneschools.com or 882-3700, Ext. 1910, for more information.