Van enables rural eye exams

Date: 10/10/15

A Trillium partnership aims to expand vision services to some Western Oregon communities

By Sherri Buri McDonald

The Register-Guard

APPEARED IN PRINT: SUNDAY, OCT. 11, 2015, PAGE B1

Trillium Community Health Plan members in Oakridge, Florence and Reedsport can get free eye exams and glasses later this month when a mobile vision van visits their communities.

The van will visit Oakridge on Monday; Florence on Tuesday and Wednesday; and Reedsport on Thursday. The van can serve 30 patients each day from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., for a total of 120 patients over the four-day period, Trillium spokeswoman Debi Farr said.

She encouraged Trillium members without vision coverage in those towns to call 1-877-600-5472 to schedule an appointment if they need eye-care services.

“Being able to see clearly is important to everyone,” Trillium CEO Terry Coplin said in prepared remarks. “We are pleased to be able to provide this service to Trillium members who don’t have vision benefits available to them through OHP.”

The Oregon Health Plan covers vision services for children through age 20, pregnant women age 21 and older, and adults with specific medical conditions, such as aphakia (absence of the lens) or keratoconus (when the cornea won’t keep its round shape), or after cataract surgery. But other adult OHP members do not have vision coverage.

Vision services for OHP members were reduced in 2009 as part of broader budget cuts, Oregon Health Authority spokeswoman Patricia Feeny said.

Although Trillium members in many communities could benefit from the van’s services, “we tried to choose some specifically underserved communities,” that don’t have as many services in their communities and are relatively far away from metro areas, Farr said.

Patients with appointments at the van will be able to have vision screenings and eye exams. They can receive free reading glasses the same day as their appointment.

Or, if they are prescribed corrective lenses, they may choose from among a dozen frame styles, and the glasses will be shipped to them in three to four weeks, Farr said.

The van’s services were made possible through a partnership of Trillium, which will pay for the optometrist’s and optician’s time, as well as for eyeglasses, and OptiCare Managed Vision, a North Carolina-based company that provides eye-care services to more than 5 million members across the United States.

Trillium estimates it will spend about $7,800 on the project, Farr said.

In May, OptiCare launched a six-month national tour with its mobile vision van, called SeeMore, to bring vision screenings and eye care to people in underserved areas throughout the United States.

“OptiCare reached out to Trillium about three months ago,” Farr said.

“We started working on the project identifying areas that we thought could really benefit from the van and the services they provide.”

OptiCare currently has one van serving 20 states, and the company wants to buy another van, Farr said.