Winter 2016

VOSH-ONE is a chapter of
VOSH/INTERNATIONAL.
The organization is dedicated to
the preservation of human sight,
mainly in developing countries
where there is no welfare system.
VOSH-ONE accomplishes its goals
through its own missions or by
assisting other groups with the same
purpose.

NOTE FROM THE

PRESIDENT
DR. JENIFER AMBLER
VOSH-ONE's Fall Meeting on
October 25, 2015 served as my
second true official duty as
President (after forwarding lots of
emails and attending the VOSH/
International Meeting). We had a
relatively quiet year trip-wise:
Granada, Nicaragua in February
and SVOSH went to the
Dominican Republic in April, and
there was a trip to Peru. Locally,
SVOSH sends students to help
with a clinic in Waltham. Trips
still to come include Haiti with

VOSH-PA,
Nicaragua
again,
SVOSH
back to the Dominican Republic
probably in April 2016. We voted
to provide some funding to the
students' upcoming trip. We also
voted funding toward shipping
charges to send clinic supplies in
advance. Our website has been
updated, thanks to Wendy
Crusberg. Our next meeting date
is April 17 (see Announcements).

IN THIS ISSUE
1 NOTES FROM THE PRESIDENT
2 ANNOUNCEMENTS
3 VOSH TRIP TO COYA, PERU
4 SVOSH TRIP TO DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
5 NINTH WARD CLINIC
6 VOSH PA TRIP TO HAITI
7 V/I ANNUAL MEETING (CONT.)

VOSH/
INTERNATIONAL
ANNUAL MEETINGNEW ORLEANS, LA
OCT 9-10, 2015
In October 2015, I attended
the VOSH/International
Annual Meeting, along with
VOSH-ONE member Bina
Patel and new member Jen
Hyde. It's always fascinating
and encouraging to hear about
the many missions taking place
all over the world. The theme
was "Creating Connections,
Building Bridges...Together."
continued on page 7

CONTACT US

ANNOUNCEMENTS

VOSH-ONE BOARD
Dr. Jenifer Ambler, President,
amblerj@sover.net
Dr. Karen Koumjian, Immediate Past
President, kkoumjian@att.com
Dr. Jane Pentheny, Vice President,
janepentheny@verizon.net
Dr. Bina Patel, Secretary,
PatelB@neco.edu
Dr. Andrea Murphy, Treasurer,
amurphy391@gmail.com
Jennifer Hyde, Newsletter Editor,
jenhyde@live.com
Dr. Wendy Crusberg, Webmaster,
wcrusberg@gmail.com

STATE DIRECTORS
VT Dr. Jenifer Ambler,
ambler@sover.net
MA Dr. Lee Lerner,
eyedoclerner@aol.com &
Dr. James Luccio,
AMOINC@aol.com
NECO SVOSH Laura Chan,
LauraChan16@neco.edu &
Lisa Lach, LisaLach16@neco.edu
MCPHS SVOSH Heather Bell,
heather.bell@my.mcphs.edu
NH Dr. Ed Warren,
ed.warren@valley.net &
Dr. Wendy Crusberg,
wcrusberg@gmail.com
ME Dr. Niru Aggarwal,
nagarwal@maineeyecenter.com
RI Natalie Taylor,
RhodyParas@gmail.com
Newsletter Production
Chris Burke
WEBSITE
www.VOSH-ONE.org

Next VOSH-ONE meeting:

Sun, Apr 17, 9 AM - 12:30 PM
Address: New England College of
Optometry, 424 Beacon Street,
Boston, Clausen Room.
Tel: 617-266-2030

have its first mission in March.

Details to follow.

You might wish to engage in a

conference call. Chapter
conference calls are held
regularly to discuss various topics
such as travel insurance, sources for
VOSH-International will have a
ready made glasses, and other
booth at the American
interesting topics. The conference
Optometric Association
call is on the third Wednesday of
Annual meeting at the Hynes
each month. All members are
Center, Boston, June 30 to July
invited! Contact Tracy Matchinski,
2, 2016. Its a great opportunity for
OD at matchinski@vosh.org
VOSH-ONE to recruit new
members while representing the
Save the Date: The next VOSH/
parent organization. Those who are International Annual Meeting,
interested in volunteering may
Exceeding the Vision will be held
contact me at zeltzer@vosh.org.
on Sunday, November 13, 2016 in
Anaheim, CA. Details can be found
Latest news from VOSH/
at http://vosh.org/annualInternational is the approval of
meetings/annual-meeting-2016/
VOSH-GHANA. Although several
and will be updated periodically.
African schools of optometry have
VOSH/International hopes you can
student chapters, Ghana is the first
attend the meeting.
country on the continent to form a
chapter. VOSH-Ghana will receive Check the V/I website for
assistance from the West Accra
upcoming clinic opportunities:
Rotary Club and from VOSH
http://vosh.org/get-involved/
clinics-by-date/
International with instruments and
equipment. VOSH-GHANA will
Reminder: Annual dues, $40
Please join VOSH-ONE and help provide the gift of sight to needy
individuals in other countries as well as within our own borders.
Please mail in your check to:
VOSH-ONE Treasurer
Dr. Andrea Murphy
P.O. Box 371
Grantham, NH 03753
Membership dues can also be paid online at: http://
www.vosh-one.org/donations-or-become-a-member.php

VOSH MICHIGAN TRIP TO COYA, PERU

SHIRLIE DOWD, OD, DOVER, NH
I was a member of the VOSH
Michigan chapter's trip to Coya, Peru
in late January 2015. We were
fortunate to see 915 patients over 4
clinic days. We had a team of 20
volunteers (8 ODs, 3 students, 3
opticians, 6 volunteers). We dispensed
313 glasses from inventory, made 137
glasses on site at our fabrication lab,
and had 16 made in the US. In
addition we dispensed several
hundred readers as well as sunglasses
for each patient. We also treated
medical issues and set many patients
up for cataract, pterygia and
glaucoma surgeries with a team coming down a few
months after us.
The population of the area is predominantly spanish
speaking Peruvians, but there are the Quetchua-mountain people descended from the Incas. Some of

the people who live in the Andes mountains walk 10+

hours to be seen at the clinic in Coya. When we were
fighting altitude sickness and getting winded walking
up stairs, these people summit 14,000 foot mountains
regularly!

SVOSH-NECO TRIP TO THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

BY SARA HANNA, SVOSH-NECO PRESIDENT
Three years of dedicated
volunteering along with the hard
work of Dr. Bina Patel, and we
were finally ready. As third years
we were now able to go on our
first mission trip. On April 17th,
the New England College of
Optometry (NECO) chapter of
Student Volunteer Optometric
Services to Humanity (SVOSH)
traveled successfully to the
Dominican Republic to provide
eye care to an underserved
community with the help of Batey
Relief Alliance (BRA). The trip,
lasting 8 days, was nothing short of
an amazing experience. With 22
optometry students and 4 doctors,
we managed to see close to 1,000
patients in 5 days of open clinic.
Students were exposed to many
conditions in such a short period
of time, it was like an optometry
boot camp: active toxoplasmosis
one minute, traumatic glaucoma
another, chemical burns, diabetic
retinopathy, macular holes, high

refractive errors,
all in a days
work.
Antibiotics,
allergy
medications,
glaucoma
medications and
steroid eye drops
were dispensed
as needed, as
were reading
and distance
glasses,
sunglasses and
artificial tears.
For those rare
prescriptions, we
had the patients
select a frame, and VOSH
students will make the glasses in
Boston to the required
specifications; they will be mailed
to the BRAs New York office, and
the CEO of the company will then
bring them to the community on
his next visit to the Dominican
Republic.
I cannot
describe the
emotions we
experienced
when we
watched
patients
putting on
trial frames
with their
correct
prescription
and
witnessed
their faces

lighting up. They could finally see

my face clearly, they could read,
they could look over and see their
families faces for the first time in a
long time. In the midst of multiple
language barriers, the smiles were
enough to make every effort taken
to attend the trip worth it.
With the help of a multitude of
donors and volunteers such as the
Lions Club and a generous boy
scout troop, we provided every
patient in need with glasses, meds,
and toys. Batey Relief Alliance
allowed us to deliver care for these
communities and provided us with
interpreters, project managers,
tour guides, and on-site lunch and
snacks every day. We are very
thankful as a whole to have been
given this opportunity and we pray
that we are able to continue these
trips in the future.

NINTH WARD CLINIC

BY JENNIFER HYDE

To commemorate World Sight

Day on Thursday, Oct 8, VOSH
International and VSP Mobile
Eyes sponsored a free clinic in the
Lower Ninth Ward of New
Orleans. The clinic took place the
day before VOSHs annual
meeting. Coincidentally this date
was also the tenth anniversary of
Hurricane Katrina. The Ninth
Ward was unduly damaged by
Katrina and it was clear from the
drive to the clinic that the area has
not nearly achieved full recovery.
The patients lives who attended
the clinic were severely impacted
by this disaster. For instance, some
peoples eyeglasses were carried
away during the flooding which
compounded their loss as it proved
challenging to complete FEMA
forms and carry on with the daily
aspects of living.
In fact, VSPs mobile eye clinics
began as a mission to provide eye
care and eyeglasses to Katrina
victims in 2005. VSP set up the
first of its mobile clinics in New
Orleans, not only to help flood
victims but also to assist
optometrists re-establish their
destroyed practices. Dr. Jarrett
Johnson reported, I'd had my
office on St. Claude in the Lower
9th Ward for 15 years. Needless to
say, it was washed away." VSPs
initial post-Katrina efforts have
grown to three mobile eye care
units with exam rooms,
phoropters, and full frame
dispensaries.
Approximately 400 patients were
seen at the Oct 8 clinic. As a lay
volunteer I worked with incoming

patients to help fill out their

medical history forms. As these
forms requested detailed
knowledge of medical history,
medications, etc, the forms proved
difficult for many to complete.
There were some literacy and
language barriers, as well as
incomplete knowledge of medical
background. It is important for
intake volunteers to be aware of
potential embarrassment over
literacy issues and to handle this in
a sensitive, private way. This is
also an issue with clinics in
developing countries. Another side
note was the high degree of health
issues and chronic disease such as

obesity, heart disease, high blood

pressure, and diabetes in this
population. It would have been
ideal to have had an opportunity to
educate the patients of the link
between diabetes and eye health.
Patients were seen by one of ten
optometrists and fitted with new
eyeglasses. Those that needed
special prescriptions received them
on the spot as they were prepared
in the VSP mobile optical
dispensary unit. It was a very
successful day. People left the
clinic with well- fitting eyeglasses.
The clinic was very popular.
Those who could not be
accommodated that day received
certificates for free eye exam and
glasses. One patient indicated that
they had not received a new pair of
eyeglasses since Katrina! It was a
meaningful day and looking
forward to a future when all
individuals, no matter their income
level, have access to affordable
eyeglasses so the need for such
clinics is obsolete.

VOSH PA TRIP TO HAITI

BY JENNIFER HYDE
My path to joining a VOSH trip
to Haiti in November was an
unusual one. It started close to
home here in Newton in an
eyeglass store where I observed
lenses being discarded. Flashback
to the Congo where I had lived as
a Peace Corps volunteer and
remembered many people severely
impaired by a lack of access to
eyeglasses. How could it be that
these pricey lenses were tossed
when there is such dire need
around the world? This lead me
on a personal expedition to get to
the bottom of the issue; collecting
eyeglasses for the Newton Lions
Club, travelling to New Orleans to
attend the 2015 VOSH meeting
and volunteering at a clinic in the
Ninth Ward, to finally joining the
VOSH-PA group to Haiti.
Our group was comprised of
three optometrists, four optometry
students, and four lay volunteers.
We set up temporary clinics in five
locations around Cap Haitien
(the second biggest city after
Port au Prince, the capital) during our stay.
Many cases of glaucoma, cataracts and other
pathologies were identified. The treatable
and correctable cases
were referred to the Vision Plus clinic in part
established by the
VOSH-PA group and an
affiliated non-profit that they

established,
Vision for
the Poor.
Several
Haitian
opthomalogists perform
cataract surgeries at this
clinic. The
Newton Lions generously donated over
$1000 to pay for 20 cataract surgeries performed on patients we referred.
I was pleased to discover that lay
volunteers can be a helpful asset to
these clinics. We worked the
tonometer, measured visual acuity
and worked the optical station.
Our stock of glasses was comprised
of new and used. I arrived with a
suitcase full of glasses collected
here in Newton by the Lions.
These glasses were neutralized
by a community service
class of student opticians
lead by Blair Wong,
Professor of
Opticianry at the
Benjamin Franklin
School of
Technology in
Boston, who himself is
very devoted to global
work. It was gratifying
to see these glasses come
full circle.

I arrived in Haiti with a lot of

enthusiasm for fitting Haitians
with used glasses. The reality is
more challenging than I
anticipated. With differing OS
and OD prescriptions, finding a
match is tricky. Plus patients often
want a choice of frames. Also, in
developing countries such as Haiti,
need is greatest for low powers and
many used glasses have high
powers. However, using a
database cataloguing system to
easily find the proper glasses for an
individual would make the job
more efficient and effective. An
eyeglass cataloguing system,
REIMS, does exist. Apparently it
is in need of an upgrade and it
should be evaluated for its value on
VOSH missions. A project for
another day! In the meantime, it
was a privilege to join the VOSH
group to Haiti and I hope to go
back!

VOSH/INTERNATIONAL
ANNUAL MEETING- NEW
ORLEANS, LA
continued from page 1

The day before the actual meeting, Jen Hyde

participated in a vision screening in the 9th Ward of
New Orleans where poverty still reigns.
The Keynote addresses were by Susan Cooper, OD,
FAAO, Immediate Past President of the World
Council of Optometry, who filled us in on the latest
meeting in Colombia (which Bina also attended) and
told us about the next one, in India in September
2016; and by Alvaro Alcala, OD, President of the
Mexican Association of Faculties, Schools, Colleges
and Councils of Optometry, who educated us on the
state of Optometry in Mexico, which is gradually
moving toward a more professional model of licensure
and regulation despite political hurdles.
A lovely, alternately touching and humorous tribute
was given to the late Brien Holden. The Brien Holden
Vision Institute is interested in having VOSH groups
partner with optometry schools worldwide to address
myopia prevention and control.
New President Ellen Weiss was inducted; she is also
president of Nebraska VOSH.
Humanitarian of the Year award went to Victoria
Weiss, mostly due to her work with Remote Area
Medical (RAM) with VOSH-VA. The Lifetime
Achievement Award went to Greg Pearl for his many
years' (and continuing) work. We were treated to a
Skype conversation with VOSH/International Fellow
Justin Manning, on location in Nicaragua.
Breakout sessions included hands-on practice with
the SVOne hand held autorefractor (I have one in my
office and love it), developing sustainable clinics (as
opposed to just swooping in for a week), collaborations
between VOSH and SVOSH chapters worldwide, and

VOSH-International past president David McPhillips

and current president Ellen Weiss

collaborations with Surgical Eye Expeditions (SEE)

International.
The next VOSH/International meeting will be held
on Sunday, November 13, 2016 in Anaheim, CA, in
conjunction with the Academy meeting.
One fun little personal connection...an OD's spouse
was a Lion in Texas, and we ended up talking for a
long time about our missions (theirs in Mexico and
mine in El Salvador), and the friendships and
connections we've made in those countries beyond just
the clinics. She gave me money to purchase one of the
miniature nativity scenes I bring back from El
Salvador each year to sell to raise money for a
scholarship fund my church has established for the
children of its sister church in El Salvador.
I purchased several in El Salvador, just a couple of
weeks after the annual meeting, and mailed one to her
upon return to the USA.
Dr. Jenifer Ambler
VOSH-ONE President