PBA President's Day Advocacy Week

Thank you for participating in our 2010 advocacy efforts and our President's Day Congressional District visits February 16-19, 2010. As you know, in honor of the President's Day holiday on February 15, we are asking you to meet with your Representative and Senators while they are home on recess from Congress next week.

Prevent Blindness America is advocating for FY 2011 resources to support and strengthen programs to preserve sight, research the causes of eye disease and vision loss, improve early detection and diagnosis of eye disease and vision loss, and advance prevention and treatment efforts for patients.

Share your story of vision and eye health with your Member of Congress! Please help Prevent Blindness America advocate for vision and eye health by sharing your story with your Representative and Senators. Eye and vision health issues affect all Americans.

For meeting tips and materials, go to:
http://www.preventblindness.org/news/releases/012110_2.html.

And thank you for being an eye and vision health advocate!

Prevent Blindness America 2010 Federal Legislative Agenda

Each year, Prevent Blindness America advocates for vision and eye health at the state and federal levels. Our federal legislative agenda for 2010 is as follows:

1. Provide $5 million in FY 2011 for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Vision Health Initiative. Additional FY 2011 resources will support: strengthened state-based public health efforts to address vision and eye health; development of additional evidence-based public health interventions that improve eye health among the nation's most at-risk and underserved; and expanded initiatives to address the growing problem of diabetes among children and the associated impacts of diabetic retinopathy, which can develop later in life.
2. Support increased FY 2011 funding for the National Eye Institute at the National Institutes of Health. These funds will continue to bolster essential efforts to identify the underlying causes of eye disease and vision loss, improve early detection and diagnosis of eye disease and vision loss, and advance prevention, treatment efforts and health information dissemination.
3. Join the Congressional Vision Caucus (CVC). The CVC is a bipartisan, bicameral group of Members of Congress dedicated to strengthening and stimulating a national dialogue on the importance of vision health. The CVC is co-chaired by Representatives Gene Green (D-TX), David Price (D-NC), Patrick Tiberi (R-OH), and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL).

Get involved in Prevent Blindness America's 2010 advocacy efforts! Go to: http://www.preventblindness.org/news/releases/012110_2.html

Get Involved in Prevent Blindness America's 2010 Advocacy Efforts

Prevent Blindness America is kicking off our 2010 advocacy efforts, asking you to take part in Congressional meetings at home. In honor of the President Day's holiday on February 15, we are asking you to reach out to your Representative and Senators and request a meeting in their district offices that week while they are home on recess from Congress. We have prepared a template meeting request letter for you to download and personalize as well as a tips sheet for your meeting. You can find both documents at http://www.preventblindness.org. Download the meeting request letter, personalize it with your information, and send it to your Member of Congress today to request a meeting during the week of February 16-19!

Won't you share your story of vision and eye health with your Member of Congress? Please help Prevent Blindness America advocate for vision and eye health by sharing your story with your Representative and Senators. Eye and vision health issues affect all Americans.

For more information about our advocacy efforts, go to http://www.preventblindness.org or call (800) 331-2020.

Join your local Prevent Blindness America affiliate's advocacy efforts! To find an affiliate in your state, go to: http://www.preventblindness.org/about/affiliates.html.

Thank you, and keep checking our website for more information on these important visits, including a powerpoint training document and a template thank you letter you can send after your successful meeting.

January is Glaucoma Awareness Month

January is National Glaucoma Awareness Month and Prevent Blindness America seeks to educate the public on what they can do to maintain their eye and vision health.

Glaucoma, a disease that causes a gradual degeneration of cells that make up the optic nerve, is the second leading cause of blindness in the world and the leading cause of blindness in African American and Hispanic populations in the United States. There are nearly 2.3 million Americans over the age of 40 suffering from glaucoma, and glaucoma costs the U.S. economy $2.86 billion every year in direct medical costs for outpatient, inpatient and prescription drug services.

Besides age, other risk factors include sex and race. Glaucoma is more common in women, but by age 65, the prevalence of glaucoma becomes more comparable between the sexes. Hispanic, Caucasian and African American populations are more susceptible to open angle glaucoma while acute angle-closure is more common in certain Asian populations and Americans of Asian descent, according to the Glaucoma Research Foundation.

More information about glaucoma can be found at:
http://www.preventblindness.org/glaucoma/

To view a full copy of the January press release, go to: http://www.preventblindness.org/news/releases/011410_2.html