 |
The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
|
The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
Barbara Litke, MA, Director of Medical, Vision and Rehabilitation Services, The Jewish Guild for the Blind, 15 West 65th Street, New York, NY 10023, 212-769-7879, blitke@jgb.org, Alan R. Morse, PhD, President and CEO, The Jewish Guild for the Blind, 15 West 65th Street, New York, NY 10023, and Elaine S. Yatzkan, PhD, Director, Quality Assurance and Compliance, The Jewish Guild for the Blind, 15 West 65th Street, New York, NY 10023.
Based on incidence rate estimates, there will be an increasing number of cases of low vision and blindness each year. With the aging of the US population the number of new cases is expected to double over the next two decades. Consequently, new paradigms need to be developed to meet these needs. This session will present a model of comprehensive services for persons with vision impairment. Vision rehabilitation typically is provided either as an isolated service or in conjunction with rehabilitation at agencies for the blind. Recognizing that vision loss is most often accompanied by multiple co-morbidities, conventional approaches that address vision loss alone do not adequately meet the multiple needs of this population. Our model includes primary medical care, endocrinology, diabetes education, low vision optometry, occupational, physical and speech therapies, vision rehabilitation, podiatry and access to all other medical services as well as adult day health care and a managed long-term care program. This comprehensive approach enables providers to collaborate as a team in a patient-centered environment, thereby facilitating continuity of care. In this session the underlying philosophy of this approach to care, the development of the program and patient outcomes will be addressed.
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participants will be able to
Keywords: Vision Care, Health Care Access
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.