CareSouth Announces Exclusive Partnership with Low Vision Works

CareSouth Homecare Professionals announces partnership with Low Vision Works, providing a uniquely effective treatment for patients who suffer from low vision disabilities. The separate division is doing business as Low Vision Works by CareSouth and is now serving the Greensboro, Lexington and Asheboro areas of North Carolina.
Greensboro, GA, August 03, 2011 --(PR.com)-- CareSouth Homecare Professionals, a leading provider of home health care, has formed a partnership with Low Vision Works (LVW) to provide a uniquely effective treatment for patients who suffer from low vision disabilities. This separate division of CareSouth will be doing business as Low Vision Works by CareSouth. The company is an exclusive provider of the visual therapy service in the Greensboro, Lexington and Asheboro areas. The announcement was made today by CareSouth chief executive officer and president, Rick Griffin.

Low vision is not curable by surgery, medication or corrective lenses and can become progressively worse with age. For many seniors, walking safely, cooking and watching television are extremely challenging.

“We chose to partner with Low Vision Works because this program provides a viable solution for visual problems that were once deemed hopeless,” said Griffin. “Many of our patients suffer from low vision that becomes worse with age. Until now, there were few options for relief. We are thrilled to be a part of this revolutionary, new procedure providing help for people with low vision disabilities.”

Many senior adults suffer from low vision disabilities including such eye diseases as Age Related Macular Degeneration (AMD), Diabetic Retinopathy and Glaucoma. The specialized low vision treatment offered by Low Vision Works by CareSouth will use visual retraining - finding the healthy areas of the eye and then training the eye to use those healthy areas for clearer vision. It is designed specifically to help those who suffer from Macular degeneration. And it is 100% covered by Medicare for those eligible.

The treatment has increased visual acuity an average of 40 to 60 percent for patients who received visual retraining in combination with home modification. Reading speed and accuracy improved equally dramatically, resulting in overall functional independence. More information on Low Vision Works can be found online at www.LowVisionWorks.com.

CareSouth Homecare Professionals provides home health care services in seven states in the United States, offering various programs and specialized services including fall prevention, total hip and knee orthopedic rehabilitation, wound care management, pulmonary disease and cardiovascular disease management. For more information about CareSouth, visit www.caresouth.com.

For more information about Low Vision Works by CareSouth please call Mike Thomas of Low Vision Works by CareSouth at 866-989-0020.

CareSouth Homecare Professionals
Diana Porter
800-241-3363
Contact
caresouth.com

Rules for your glasses

This is my sister's sweet grandson who got his first pair of glasses. His mother wrote this cute post and I wanted to share insight about his first pair plus she's a school teacher. I've worn glasses since I was 2 so I'm sure I told some of these rules.

And yes, he is sporting his new glasses. They came in within two weeks instead of the expected four to six weeks. He was excited the first day, but not so much anymore. We are reminding him constantly to keep them on. And we have also come up with quite the list of rules. For instance:

1. Do not put your glasses on the floor.

2. Do not put your glasses where anyone will sit.

3. Do not hang your glasses from a tree branch.

4. Do not bury your glasses in a pile of leaves and then forget where you put them so that all three of us have to go on a twenty minute search for them.

5. In fact, do not take your glasses off outside at all.

6. Do not touch the lenses.

7. Do not wear them upside down.

8. Do not stretch the ear pieces.

More to come, I'm sure. And I do realize that, as much as possible, you are supposed to state rules for children in the positive manner rather than a list of don'ts, so I guess I better get to work restating this list. :)

LIGHTS OUT

I haven't posted in awhile due to many reasons but mainly Blogspot changed their home page for bloggers. I can't find anything on my iPad so I can post. Yesterday my husband and I had guest over for supper. We went to Publix for groceries. As we took off down the road we noticed a few street light out. We thought this must have just happened. We entered Publix to out surprise the store was dark. I was explained to us that the lights had been out for 30 minutes. They had a generator so the AC and some lights were on. As we made our way around the store I had my cane out and told my poor husband not to move more than 4 feet away from me. We found most of the items we needed. Did I mention the just rearranged the store so I'm not sure where most things are. The employees were working together to cover the refrigerated and frozen foods. The staff were very friendly asking did we find everything we needed and had flashlights to help. I told my husband I usually have a flashlight in my purse but not today. At the register they were joking about the lights I commented as I folded my cane "Now you now what my world is like". We heard from several friends that their neighborhood were without light but not ours. Today the newspaper reported the outage was due to a squirrel in the transformer.

Children Need High-Tech Vision to Thrive in Today's Classrooms

Classrooms around the country are becoming increasingly high-tech, and teachers are incorporating 3D educational tools such as digital devices and advanced computer applications into their daily curriculum. While these instruments can greatly enhance learning, they can be problematic for a whopping 25% of children who head back to school this year due to undetected vision problems. Having low-tech vision in a 3D world could hamper learning and even lead to physical discomfort.
“Children who have even a small vision misalignment or those who lack equal vision in both eyes may not be able to perceive 3D images properly,” explains Dr. Carl Hillier of the California Optometric Association. “Watching 3D imagery, which creates the illusion of depth by presenting each eye with a slightly different image, can unmask ulterior issues such as lazy eye, convergence insufficiency, poor focusing skills and other visual problems students might not have previously known existed.”
These conditions often manifest in poor reading ability and performance in sports as well as low self-esteem; all problems that could follow a child throughout life. Three-dimensional imaging technology can maximize student experience by allowing for virtual tours of museums or even 360 degree views from inside the human heart. But, combined with the recreational use of video games or television, the use of 3D imagery in school compounds the demands placed on young eyes.
Early detection and treatment are critical in correcting vision problems and helping students reach their highest potential, but how is a parent to know? Look for these five warning signs that your child may be part of the 25% who will be at a disadvantage in the classroom this year.

• Returns from seeing a 3D movie feeling dizzy, nauseous or with a headache; or child doesn't see a difference between 2D and 3D images
• Trouble hitting or catching a ball
• Clumsy, often bumping into things
• Frequently loses place when reading or uses a finger to follow words
• Discomfort and avoidance of reading and 3D viewing

Studies have proven that early intervention and treatment can reverse vision conditions and put students on the path to success. The California Optometric Association advises parents and students to prepare for the new academic year by scheduling a comprehensive optometric eye exam. You can find an optometrist in your area by logging onto www.eyehelp.org and ensuring that your child is prepared for the many demands of the electronic world of 2011.
Established in 1899, the California Optometric Association is California's oldest organized community for optometrists. Representing more than 2,700 optometrists, COA is dedicated to ensuring the highest quality of health care for the public through the advancement of optometry. Learn more at www.coavision.org, www.Facebook.com/CaliforniaOptometric and http://twitter.com/COA_Vision.

for California Optometric Association
Phyllis Klein, 323-655-4200
pklein@pkapr.com

Read more: http://www.benzinga.com/pressreleases/11/07/b1813324/children-need-high-tech-vision-to-thrive-in-todays-classrooms#ixzz1XNqf3twR

Riverbank California Area's Visually Impaired Participate In Annual Run

By JOHN BRANCH

Wearing dark shades and holding the white cane that denotes the blind, Mauricio Molina of Modesto was staffing the booth for the Vision Impaired Persons Support (VIPS) group at Saturday's fundraising run in Riverbank.

Molina did not participate in this year's event but did take part in the first VIPS run/walk three years ago when his sight was already deteriorating. He was willing to talk about how it feels to run when you can't see very well.

"I have a disease called retinitis pigmentosa that will cause me to go totally blind eventually," he said. "I was a postal worker for 15 years. Now I work at the VIPS support center in Modesto teaching others who are visually impaired how to manage in daily life."

Riverbank optometrist Dr. Brian Elliot, who served on the planning commission here for many years and has offices both here and in Modesto, helped start the VIPS group and organized Saturday's event with the help of the ShadowChase Running Club of Modesto.

More than 250 runners and walkers took part in the event that started from the Galaxy Theater and followed Jackson Avenue north into the River Heights residential area. Elliott said there were half a dozen participants who were visually impaired taking part in Saturday's run.

"I realized maybe I should stop when I came dangerously close to some trash cans when training," Molina said of not currently putting on the running shoes. "But I'd like to try it again, next year maybe. I'd probably have to run with a sighted person."

The totally or the partially blind can run beside a sighted person, some of them touching an upper arm, some of them holding a baton between them so they are connected but don't bump into each other, said Elliott.

It still takes a lot of courage and trust.

Very often the visually impaired runners are former athletes, who can't give up the idea of competing.

They vary in how much they can see from very low vision to legal blindness, Elliott added.

The annual run has both a 5K and a 10K course. Most of the vision impaired opt to take on the 5K with a sighted guide.

VIPS is a non-profit corporation that opened a facility in downtown Modesto in 2005. It has a computer lab for assistive technology instruction (like handling computers), a full kitchen and laundry area for independent living skills training and a conference room for Braille instruction and other meetings.

VIPS became a vendor for the California Department of Rehabilitation in 2009 and for the Veterans Administration in June of this year. There is a scholarship fund for those who do not qualify with DOR or the VA and need financial assistance.

VIPS' web site is www.vhips.com and the telephone number 522-8477.

Over one million Americans aged 40 and over are blind and an additional 2.4 million are visually impaired with those numbers expected to double over the next 30 years as the baby boomer generation ages, according to VIPS statistics.

Mauricio Molina of Modesto ran in the first Vision Impaired Persons Support (VIPS) fundraising event three years ago when he was already losing his sight. Since then his sight has deteriorated but he has become program director for the support group based in Modesto and was staffing its table at Saturday�s walk and run in Riverbank. JOHN BRANCH/THE NEWS