We Take YourEYES to HEART

Youngest Eyes

New free program lets us help protect the vision of our youngest citizens

One in every 10 children has undiagnosed eye and vision problems, yet few mothers take their babies to a vision care professional for a check-up. Therefore, many vision problems are not being identified at an early age, when many of those problems might be prevented or more easily corrected.

In an effort to help find infants and children with vision problems, Dr. Chris Ratcliff and Dr. Bill Ratcliff of Tri-State Eye Care Center have volunteered to serve as an InfantSEE ® optometrists. Under this program, Tri-State Eye Care Center will provide a comprehensive infant eye assessment within the first year of life as a no-cost public health service.

You may call Tri-State Eye Care at (304) 523-4819 and make an appointment for the free exam at your convenience. It is recommended you print and fill out these forms before the visit.

The American Optometric Association encourages parents to include a trip to the optometrist in the list of well-baby check-ups. Assessments at six to twelve months of age can determine healthy development of vision. Early detection of eye conditions is the best way to ensure your child has healthy vision for successful development -- now and in the future.

Following the assessment, in addition to sharing findings with the parents, the optometrist may send summary information to the infant’s pediatrician, family physician or other appropriate practitioners reporting and explaining any significant condition diagnosed in the course of the assessment.

For more information about the InfantSEE ® program, visit www.infantsee.org