Sight for Seniors

Helping older adults to preserve their sight

One-third of all Americans aged 65 and older have some form of vision impairing eye disease.  However, many do not know it because there are often no warning symptoms or they assume that poor sight is a natural part of growing older.  By detecting eye disease early through annual, dilated eye exams, as recommended by the American Optometric Association (http://www.aoanet.org/) and the National Institute on Aging (http://www.nia.nih.gov/), and receiving appropriate treatment, seniors can preserve their sight and better maintain their safety and independence.

Many low-income seniors cannot afford appropriate eye care due to lack health coverage or out-of–pocket cost associated with health insurance.  The co-payment and/or the deductible for services covered by insurance plans such as Medicare may be more than low-income seniors perceive they can pay.  Medicare also does not cover refractions (tests to determine an eyeglasses prescription), or eyeglasses (with exception of one time following cataract surgery).  

In collaboration with the Chicago Housing Authority (http://www.thecha.org/) and the Chicago Department on Aging (http://egov.cityofchicago.org/city/webportal/home.do), the IEI launched the Sight for Seniors program to provide important eye care services to low-income seniors.  The program is currently available to seniors in the CHA’s Lincoln Perry, Judge Green and Judge Slater Senior Housing Developments.

Sight for Seniors is made possible in part through an in-kind donation of eyewear from Essilor of America (http://www.essilor.com) and through the support of the Retirement Research Foundation (http://www.rrf.org/).  The Retirement Research Foundation, endowed in 1978 by the late John D. MacArthur, is the nation's largest private foundation exclusively devoted to aging and retirement issues.  It makes between $8 and $9 million in grants each year to support programs, research, and public policy studies to improve the quality of life of older Americans.

“Proper vision care is especially important to seniors, but many cannot afford the out-of-pocket expenses.  Through the generosity of the Retirement Research Foundation and the Illinois Eye Institute, the Sight for Seniors program promotes the prevention, detection and treatment of eye diseases and vision impairments among this population.”

Janis Ecklund Winters, O.D., Associate Professor of Optometry
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