In 2007 the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary entered
its second year of collaboration with the Vision Coalition
(formerly Prevent Blindness Massachusetts). Mass. Eye and Ear’s physician-residents and members of its department of ophthalmology and Optical Shop staff conducted full-dilation eye exams for students in several adult education center programs. The Vision Coalition provided funding for the eyeglasses made in the Mass. Eye and Ear optical shop at a discounted price. Thanks to this collaboration, in fiscal year 2007 more than 90 percent of participants examined received eyeglasses they would not have otherwise been able to afford. In addition, significant eye problems were identified in several 
participants and measures were taken immediately to preserve their vision.
“All of the adults in the program received a higher quality of medical care than they would ever have received on their own and most of them received a free pair of glasses with which they are now seeing better,” said Alan Cregg, executive director of the Vision Coalition. “It is hard to learn in school if you cannot see as well as you can possibly see. With the help of Mass. Eye and Ear, these people, most of them immigrants, have a fighting chance to make a living here in the United States. As an organization, we are so appreciative of what the Mass. Eye and Ear is doing for us. It is also significant to me personally having had eye surgery there on a couple of occasions myself as a result of a hockey accident while a student at Yale.”
