DeKalb County’s Coordinated School Health Coordinator Dee Anna Reynolds announced last week that optometry services will be made available to students this fall through Coordinated School Health and WellChild Screening Inc.
Reynolds told the school board at Thursday night’s regular meeting that the optometry service is an expansion of a program that began in 2008.
“In the 2008-09 school year, Coordinated School Health began services with WellChild Inc. to do Early Periodic Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment (EPSDT) exams for students,” she said. “Parents who were interested in the service and whose children qualified received WellChild exams on site at school through WellChild's mobile clinic. We have continued service with WellChild every year since then," Reynolds said.
WellChild Health Screening Inc. (WCHS) screens students for problems with vision, hearing, mental health, blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol, scoliosis, motor skills and more.
Reynolds said hundreds of children in DeKalb County have benefited from the program.
“In the first year, 142 physicals were completed,” she shared. “This year, for 2012-13, over 400 exams have been completed. In the five years since we have implemented this service, one thing has remained constant, and that is the number of vision referrals.
“Approximately 20-33 percent of students receive vision referrals every year either through WellChild services or Coordinated School Health screenings,” Reynolds said.
“WellChild has offered mobile optometry services in Memphis only for the last few years, and it has been a very successful service there, so WellChild began looking at adding this service to the middle Tennessee area,”  she noted.
“Through a several month-long process, WellChild has been able to secure the resources and optometrists who are willing to aid with this service, so Coordinated School Health is pleased to announce WellChild will be adding the optometry service for DeKalb County beginning this fall,” Reynolds said.
“Parents who fill out the paper work and want their child to receive a WellChild exam will now have an option to fill out an additional form for optometry services,” she continued. “Students who receive vision referrals will have further vision testing.”
Reynolds said glasses will be provided for students with vision problems.
“If that child needs glasses, they will receive two pairs of glasses, one for school and one pair to take home and keep at home,” she informed. “At the end of the school year, Coordinated School Health will take the school pair of glasses and return them to WellChild.
“WellChild will send those glasses to be checked for needed repairs and cleaning. The glasses will be returned to the student for the next school year.
“In addition to offering this optometry service through EPSDT exams, WellChild will be working with Coordinated School Health through their vision-screening results to further test students who may need it,” she said.
Forms for the WellChild program will be included in beginning-of-the-year registration forms this fall.