A Road Trip with Epic to Better Outcomes for Vision and Education

January 7, 2019

Eye care on wheels makes glasses more accessible for students

This fall, communities across the country helped students prepare to go back to school with school supply sales, book drives, and—in Omaha, Nebraska—a 33-foot Winnebago. The RV, re-christened the Visionmobile, comes courtesy of Children’s Hospital & Medical Center in Omaha, which retrofitted the vehicle with state-of-the-art vision equipment and exam workstations equipped with Epic.

Children’s Visionmobile goal is to make vision care more accessible for students in the Omaha Public School district: Of the 52,000 students in the district, about 9,000 have vision problems that could be fixed with glasses.

Students undergo an initial vision screening at their school. If the results indicate they might need glasses, lower-income students who obtain parental consent have the opportunity to be examined more fully in Children’s Visionmobile.

The Visionmobile, which emerged from Building Healthy Futures’ Child Vision Collaborative, made its debut in August 2018 and travels to pre-K through 12th grade classrooms where the need is the greatest, primarily schools with poverty rates of 75% or greater. The Visionmobile is staffed by Children’s with an eye doctor, a coordinator, an optician, and an op-tech (one of whom doubles as the driver). Follow-up services provided include basic eye exams, refraction for glasses, basic eye disease treatment, and possible referrals for advanced care. The Visionmobile’s goal for its first year in operation is to treat 6,000 students.