Atlanta, GA (March 13, 2023) – Georgia Baptist Healthcare Ministry Foundation donates $75,000 to Georgia Lions Lighthouse Foundation, Inc.s’ statewide Tele-Optometry vision program to serve uninsured and underinsured Georgians.

Georgia Lions Lighthouse Foundation, Inc. launched the first-ever, nonprofit, statewide tele-optometry vision exam pilot in April 2022. This pilot is focused on one goal – serving patients who need us most where they live.

According to Larry Wynn, executive director of the Georgia Baptist Health Care Ministry Foundation, “Meeting Georgians where they live and providing vital health services to those in need resonates with our mission. We anticipated a strong return in the quality of life for Georgians who receive vision services through this innovative program.”

“There is a shortage of optometrists and ophthalmologists in Georgia” explains Beth Ehrhardt, executive director, of Georgia Lions Lighthouse Foundation, Inc.. “Today, 52 counties in Georgia have little to no vision services.” By leveraging cutting-edge technology, Georgia Lions Lighthouse Foundation, Inc. coordinates services in areas of the state with no access to vision services. In partnership with Federally Qualified Health Centers and Public Health Departments throughout Georgia, Georgia Lions Lighthouse Foundation, Inc. has licensed professionals onsite as allowed by Georgia regulations.

Patients and staff at these facilities have received this service well. Tele-Optometry has demonstrated that this is an important step to bringing vision care to rural Georgians ages 15 and older while addressing the lack of available vision providers.

Georgia Lions Lighthouse Foundation, Inc. operates a full-service vision clinic in metro Atlanta (Chamblee). With strategic clinical partnerships, mobile clinic services, and their Vision Care for Children program, Georgia Lions Lighthouse Foundation, Inc. covers all of Georgia, providing the full continuum of vision care – from vision screenings to full eye exams; the fitting of low-cost prescription glasses (made in-house) to funding support for cataract, glaucoma, and diabetic retinopathy surgeries; and referrals to needed vision specialists.

Why Tele-Optometry | Access & Affordability

• Average patient cost exam/glasses = $25/person vs $300/person for-profit
• 52 Georgia counties currently lack a vision care provider
• 30% of Georgia counties lack eye care services
• 1.4M Georgians were uninsured in 2019
• 408,000 low-income Georgians do not qualify for Medicaid in Georgia and make too little to get financial help to buy private insurance at healthcare.gov. These Georgians have incomes below the poverty line (less than $12,769 a year for an individual or $21,720 a year for a family of three) and fall into the coverage gap with no affordable health insurance options.

If anyone reading this wishes to donate to the Tele-optometry fund then you can do so by following the Georgia Lions
Lighthouse Foundation LINK HERE

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About Georgia Lions Lighthouse Foundation, Inc.
As one of the most comprehensive statewide non-profit vision services provider organizations in Georgia, Georgia Lions Lighthouse Foundation, Inc. is a trusted leader in providing improved sight to Georgians who need it most. Our mission is to provide vision with education, detection, prevention, and treatment. Through strategic partnerships and mobilizing healthcare professionals, research, and technology, we enable greater independence and increased quality of life for Georgians in financial need. Georgia Lions Lighthouse Foundation, Inc. is the largest vision care provider for uninsured and underinsured residents in the state, managing more than 7,000 patients visits annually at a full-service optical clinic, mobile clinics, Title 1 elementary school vision screenings, and the new statewide tele-optometry program to address the unmet vision needs of Georgians. Consistently ranked among the top non-profit organizations in Georgia, Georgia Lions Lighthouse Foundation, Inc. has impacted the lives of Georgians for nearly 75 years thanks to generous support from the community. Visit lionslighthouse.org for more information. View our 2022 Impact report at https://online.flippingbook.com/view/902858277/