Archive for December, 2009

A surprise visitor during free day with VSP Vision Care!

Last week in San Francisco, Exploratorium guests were invited to peer into the science of seeing with VSP Vision Care. During an Exploratorium Free Wednesday on December 2nd, kids and families had the opportunity to tour SeeZar, one of the VSP Mobile Eyes® clinics, Ask the VSP eye doctor, Jim Winnick, all sorts of questions (which animal has a brain that weighs less then its eye?), spin a prize wheel, and participate in intriguing, eyes-on activities inspired by the Exploratorium’s Seeing exhibit collection. As if all of this wasn’t enough fun for the day, we had one more surprise in store for everyone, a visit by San Francisco’s Kyle Rose, member of the Team Type 1 professional cycling team!

Guests had the opportunity to ask questions about diabetes, cycling and receive autographs and pictures with the local star during his last appearance stateside as he prepared to move to Paris, France, where he will be racing for the 2010 season.

Kyle Rose and Jill N.

Kyle interacted with the kids…”you get to ride bikes for a job??” “Do you ride bikes with Lance Armstrong?” “I have a purple bike…but it’s broke.” “I bet you need really good eyes to see where you are going.” “Have you crashed before?” (OK, this last question was actually me. And yes, he just finished healing from a gnarly crash where he was clipped by another rider, flipped over his handlebars into a ditch and broke multiple ribs!) Read more »

Think Sunlenses, not Sunglasses.

Vernon D. is a member of VSP's Provider Services team.

Vernon D. is a member of VSP's Provider Services team.

Development is currently underway to bring transition lenses – lenses that darken in response to UV light – to the world of contacts. As an avid contact lens user, I’m eager for this new technology to hit the commercial public.

No more fumbling for my lost sunglasses before my morning jog. Ok – that was a lie. I don’t jog in the mornings, and I don’t have jogging sunglasses. You know why? Because I don’t have contacts that protect my eyes from the blinding morning sunlight, that’s why. But imagine being able to do all of your outdoor activities/sports without the hassle of the sunlight OR the constant readjustment of frames on your face.sunlenses

The Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN) in Singapore is currently in the testing phase of this technology, with hopes of hitting the Korea and Japan markets within a year. Check out Technology Review’s article for more information.

Via Technology Review

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If Santa Can Make Time for an Eye Exam, You Can Too!

Sara P. is an Account Executive at Altair Eyewear

Sara P. is an Account Executive at Altair Eyewear

It is Christmastime, so much of the conversation in my home lately has revolved around Santa Claus. My son is 5 so he is fascinated by Santa, and that’s primarily because Santa’s going to bring him presents-”Lots and lots of toys” to be exact.

A few days ago I was asked why Santa wears his funny hat. My response was that Santa needs his funny hat because it gets very cold at the North Pole. I pulled out one of our books so we could look at a picture and while we were talking about the hat, I noticed Santa’s glasses and started thinking about how important those glasses are.

First of all, I have seen pictures of Santa without glasses but let’s face it, Santa just isn’t the same without his eyewear. Read more »

A Rookie MRT’s Perspective

Will B. works in VSP’s Customer Service department, part of our fabulous team that achieved the prestigious Service Quality Measurement, Inc. (SQM) Award of “World Class Customer Satisfaction” for the seventh year in a row! He shares his experience as a first time Mobile Response Team (MRT) member with the VSP Mobile Eyes® program.WillB

I was fortunate enough to be selected to go on the last Mobile Eyes trip for 2009 and am quickly experiencing first hand, the work is truly some of the most rewarding work I have done with VSP.

We are half way done with our trip to Central California, and so far everything is running smoothly.  Before the trip, I had a general idea of what to expect.  I was impressed that we have most everything onboard that you would find in a VSP doctor’s office.  We can read the prescription off the patient’s current glasses, we can test for Glaucoma and even do an auto-refraction for the doctor.  The VSP doctors who come on board and provide the exams have everything they need to complete a comprehensive exam.  They even dilate patient’s eyes if they need to get a closer look.

Read more »

Exploration Through the Eyes of Students

Jeff H. is a channel partner manager with Eyefinity®/OfficeMate®. He shares his recent volunteer experience during an educational event at the San Francisco Exploratorium with our mobile clinic, SeeZar.

Eye See with VSP at the Exploratorium in San Francisco, CAI haven’t been to the Exploratorium since my own grade school field trip.  As I stepped into the spacious, interactive museum in San Francisco during the recent Eye See: Free Day with VSP Vision Care, I was reminded what a unique educational landmark the Exploratorium is – an exhibit hall filled will hands-on experiments that are not just educational, but entertaining (for kids and adults)! Read more »

Hot off the Press – VSP Holiday-themed Eye Charts!

Screen shot 2009-12-02 at 3.04.34 PM

Can’t get enough of the eye charts when visiting the eye doctor? Deck the halls of your office, cubicle or home with VSP’s fun Holiday-themed eyechart app!

“Opening Eyes” at the Villanova Special Olympics

Alexa Donovan-Bowers is a member of VSP’s Marketing Team and a Site Leader for the Mobile Eyes Program. She shares her experience at the Villanova Special Olympics in November.

special olympics

Last month I was in St. Davids, PA to be a part of the volunteer team for Opening Eyes at the Villanova Special Olympics.

Opening Ceremonies

The first night I attended the opening ceremonies and what an incredible experience! There were around 1,000 athletes, trainers and the volunteers … the energy level in the Pavilion (where Villanova plays basketball) was amazing. There were athletes of all ages from the entire state of Pennsylvania, including Team Pennsylvania, training for the 2010 Special Olympics World Championships in Nebraska next July. Read more »