Low Vision Program...

Over the past 15 years, the Westmoreland County Blind Association has been involved with Dr. Chris Cakanac in providing low vision services. The program was the first low vision clinic to be established in Westmoreland County. The number of patients seen has grown from 50 to over 200 on an annual basis.

The Westmoreland County Blind Association is responsible for providing the visual aids for the clinic. There is a wide range of visual aids available to the patients and the recommended items cannot always be satisfactory to the consumer. The problem occurs with the patient’s inability to determine whether or not the visual aids can be helpful without actually using them in their daily lives. Due to these difficulties the Westmoreland County Blind Association developed a loaner program with its visual aids so that, the patients can take the items home for two weeks and make their own determination on how useful the items are. This system has been very assistive to the patient.

This program has provided options for visually impaired consumers that were not available in the past. The addition of these items as well as obtaining the newest developments in technology is crucial to the effectiveness of this program.