Casey Community Outreach Program
History
Since our inaugural voyage in 2010, our 33-foot fully-outfitted mobile ophthalmology unit has crisscrossed Oregon from the state’s most remote corners to Portland’s urban core providing:
- Screenings for over 10,075 adults
- More than 272 vision clinics
- Referral services for over 2,390 adults who may have serious vision problems
- Over 5,970 prescription glasses given to participants
View our full impact in the 2022 Impact Report.
The problem: Ending preventable blindness
For some people, access to high quality medical care is beyond their reach. The OHSU Casey Community Outreach Program brings eye care into focus by providing free vision screenings to adults that identify common preventable and treatable eye conditions that often cause blindness.
The solution: Providing access to eye exams
Through partnerships with community agencies serving low-income, uninsured and underinsured Oregonians, the Casey Community Outreach Program offers free, on-site vision screenings at an expanding network of community locations. Participants are examined at no cost, and community partners assist with follow-up for individuals in need of assistance in purchasing glasses or access to further medical support. This strong community partnership model links people with high quality vision health services through existing agencies and resources in their community.
Oregon Vision Health Network: Community health workers make sense
Oregon Vision Heath Network (OVHN) facilitates an expanded partnership, with existing community agencies, in which staff from those agencies will be provided training and support to utilize advanced vision imaging equipment, deliver vision health education specific to their community, and effectively screen for vision impairment, while receiving technical and medical support by Casey Eye Institute Outreach. This will allow the Casey Eye Institute Outreach program to increase access to vision screenings for communities across Oregon who at highest risk for blindness. Additionally, this expansion promotes early detection and enhanced care coordination – an essential steps to eliminating preventable blindness in Oregon.
OVHN is supported by the generous donations of The Roundhouse Foundation and Heather Killough. This network will be sustained for a minimum of five years and intends to partner with eight community partner sites.
Volunteer
Entirely donor funded, the Casey Community Outreach Program is staffed by volunteer doctors, technicians, students and community members dedicated to eliminating preventable blindness in Oregon. Our 33-foot fully outfitted mobile ophthalmology unit provides free medical vision screenings in partnership with local agencies all around the state to end preventable blindness in Oregon.
Why I volunteer
"Volunteering with the Casey Outreach Program helps me feel better about the work that I do day-to-day. We can’t always help the people who need it most in our daily work. Often times I get caught up in the complexity of the situation and challenging cases. This program helps bring me back to providing ‘basic’ eye care and makes me feel that I can help some of those people who need it as close to their own place as possible."
"From the very first day, I was hooked. Not only by the palpable gratitude of the participants, but also dedication of Verian, the staff, and other volunteers - a dedication that I hope to emulate in my own career."
"I think the Casey Community Outreach Program is a really unique experience that makes Casey stand out from other institutions, and speaks to the great culture we have here."
"Over the years I’ve had the opportunity to participate with the outreach clinic many times, and it has invariably been a great experience. I’m always energized by spending time with my fellow volunteers, and am consistently inspired by their passion for service. The patients are also incredibly grateful, and I find it very rewarding to be able to provide access to eye care for patients in need, many of whom have never had an eye exam before."