On March 23, the American Diabetes Association will be encouraging people to join the Stop Diabetes movement by taking the Diabetes Risk Test. You’ll find the risk test, healthy lifestyle tips and more at stopdiabetes.com.

VSP Vision Care is a National Strategic Partner of the American Diabetes Association and is committed to joining the fight to STOP DIABETES.

Jill N. is a member of VSP's Corporate Public Relations team

“Golf is an ineffectual attempt to put an elusive ball into an obscure hole with implements ill-adapted to the purpose.”  ~Woodrow Wilson

 
For the second year in a row VSP has the opportunity to participate with Transitions Optical at the 2010 Transitions Championship for Healthy Sight as part of the “Live Your Vision Pavillion” and “Healthy Sight Village.” VSP will be one of a few optical industry partners on hand providing information, education, and hands-on experiences that will include sports-vision demonstrations, golf clinics, eyewear fashion shows and health and wellness screenings.

 VSP will be included in a new “Competitive Advantage” area developed by Transitions, VSP and Nike Golf, where attendees will have the opportunity to learn how vision impacts athletic performance (I don’t know about you, but I definitely blame my eyesight, among other things, for my golf performance…), how general fitness impacts their golf swing (so you’re NOT supposed to match the number of beers to the number of strokes?), and how the latest technological innovations like performance eyewear and golf apparel can help them golf and look their best (who cares how good you are if you don’t LOOK good doing it?).

Prior to the tournament, VSP will also partner with Transitions and Prevent Blindness Florida to provide three days of charitable outreach to local Tampa children and  adults in need. After the outreach, the VSP mobile clinic will be showcased during the tournament to help educate attendees on the importance of eye health and giving back to your community.

As part of the fun leading up to the tournament, VSP conducted a sweepstakes and one lucky winner was selected to attend the tournament with three friends. Stay tuned to see the tournament through his eyes as he creates and posts a video diary of his experience.

Check out a video from last year’s event with SeeZar!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Niki M. is a VSP Mobile Clinic Operations Manager.

 Participating in the Sacramento Black Expo at the Sacramento Convention Center in February has been a blessing in many ways. Our first day started off just like any other convention, we drove SeeLia into the convention center safely and perfectly angled her in our booth for the festivities to begin. We had the prize wheel a-spinnin’, multiple job opportunities displayed, a gorgeous frame display with both Altair and Marchon sunglasses, an interactive and fun kids table, a table with some of our plan information, and of course, SeeLia set up as a back drop open for exams and tours. 

 We were able to secure a VSP doctor for the first afternoon. The rest of the time, we handed out VSP Mobile Eyes® gift certificates that VSP pays for to provide qualified people to receive no-cost eye exams and glasses from a local VSP doctor’s office. Usually when we participate in these types of events, we don’t find many people who qualify, but due to the recent changes in Medi-Cal, coupled with the bad economy, many people qualified and were in need of exams and new glasses. 

We did eye exams onboard the first day for about three hours and then handed out over 80 gift certificates during the rest of the time. While all patients were remarkably grateful, I personally experienced three patients come to tears in thanks. Coming to tears actually doesn’t even describe it, I should say crying in thanks and praise. Two of the ladies were from a church group and were so amazed that VSP would offer this type of service to people in need.  They said they have been contacting people from all over the area to find help and they couldn’t find anyone offering services that didn’t involve some sort of weird catch.  Neither one of them had an eye exam for a long time (one was about 5 years and one was over 10 years ago!). So, I think they were both impressed and amazed at VSP’s generosity.  So blown away in fact, that both started crying and grabbed me to give me a giant hug and really let me know how important this gift was to them.

 All experiences touched me, but the last woman’s story really touched me. Now, my mom always told me that you can’t judge a book by its cover, but it was a little hard with this young woman. She walked in looking like someone I wouldn’t normally think would meet our guidelines. She looked well put together, dressed in khaki’s and a blazer jacket nicely matching. She appeared to be in her late 20’s or early 30’s and was very modest, having a hard time asking for help. When I shared with her the gift certificate program, she dropped her jaw and asked how she could qualify for one. She explained to me that she had lost her job over two years ago and has been having a very hard time finding a new job; she also mentioned that because she is a single woman, without children, she is having a hard time finding anyone who will help her with any type of assistance in the meantime. When I told her that there were no hidden fees and this gift certificate would get her a completely free eye exam and glasses, she couldn’t believe it and started crying right there in the exam room in front of me. I could tell she was embarrassed to cry and she even stepped to the side to hide her face from me and ask for a second to gain her composure. 

 This last story really hit me hard for numerous reasons. First of all, she wasn’t expecting a free hand out and she was so sweet and kind about the whole thing and in total shock that we would do something like that. Finally, it had also occurred to me how easily the two of us could have been in each other’s situations… 

I think we all went home that night feeling very blessed and incredibly grateful for VSP’s generosity….

VSP provider Dr. Jeffrey Anshel wrote an article for education.com regarding keeping our kids eyes safe while using digital devices and avoiding Computer Vision Syndrome and tired eyes. Good advice for adults too. Read article.

So how much time do you estimate you or your kids spend per day looking at digital devices (smart phones, video games, tv, computers, etc.)?  Leave us a comment.

Photo via education.com

Gail J. and her grand-daughter.

Gail J. works in VSP’s Human Resources department. She shares her experience as an employee volunteer at the recent 2010 Sacramento Black Expo, of which VSP was a major sponsor.

VSP made quite the impression at Black Expo 2010. We’ve participated in the past by having the standard booth and VSP volunteers on hand to share information about our company, more so from a job opportunity perspective. But this year, it felt different. With our VSP Mobile Clinic, SeeLia, as the backdrop of our booth, it was a thrill seeing the eyes of both children and adults as they approached us. Lots of “Wow! Look how big that thing is!” People were definitely drawn to VSP; and whether they wanted information about vision care, job opportunities, or simply to spin the prize wheel, they walked away with a true sense of the VSP experience.

While VSP made quite the impression to others, my volunteer experience left quite the impression on me. A lot of times, events such as these are basically an opportunity for people to walk by and grab the free giveaways. I didn’t get that sense this time at all. I may have chatted with at least a hundred people during my few hours of staffing the booth, but one person in particular stood out for me. I met an elderly gentleman who didn’t know anything about VSP and when I shared what we were doing at Black Expo (e.g. sharing eye health information, the Mobile Eyes program, job opportunities), he said he knew it was important to go to the doctor every year for a check-up, but he just didn’t have the money and he didn’t think the government was going to fix healthcare with all of their partisanship. I told him about our voucher program and to step inside the mobile clinic to learn more about the program. He emerged a few minutes later with a voucher and list of local VSP providers in hand. He had the biggest grin on his face and thanked me for making his day. I honestly believe the reverse was true … he made my day.

I always feel a sense of pride when I have the opportunity to represent VSP. And having the opportunity to volunteer at an event that combines two things that are of importance to me was a plus – my community (in general and specifically the African-American community) and where I work. [Of course, my family is THE most important thing in my life, but that goes without saying! ] But being able to share the VSP experience with the community was awesome! I met people who have VSP as their vision care insurance and asked me questions about their plans. Thank goodness there were volunteers from VSP’s Customer Service division to provide expert answers. I met kids who reminded me of my granddaughter Kayla in the way they asked a million questions about the Mobile Eyes clinic – “Do you drive this bus? Do you work in there? Do you live on it? Can we ride on it? How’d you guys get that thing in here?” and on and on and on. How fun that was! And last but not least, being in Human Resources, I loved hearing time after time as people approached, “VSP! You guys are one of the best companies to work for!” Even though VSP is technically not on the FORTUNE “100 Best” list this year, we remain “best” in the hearts and minds of many.

Photo via Chang W. Lee/The New York Times

Gold! The US Bobsled Team 1 wins the first American gold medal in bobsled in 62 years. Sure, that is a feat in it of its self with heavy competition, but to make the victory even more sweet, the pilot of the Night Train sled Steve Holcomb,  suffers from keratoconus, a degenerative eye condition in which the cornea distorts, causing streaking and blurring in the vision.

After his vision had deteriorated to 20/500, last March Steve underwent a radical 20-minute procedure, yet to be approved by the FDA, in which doctors implanted a lens behind each iris. Now just a year later, Steve is an Olympic champion!

See the gold medal run here and read more about Steve and the US Bobsled team here.

Surgeons from UC Davis Medical Center have demonstrated that artificial muscles can restore the ability of patients with facial paralysis to blink, a development that could benefit the thousands of people each year who no longer are able to close their eyelids due to combat-related injuries, stroke, nerve injury or facial surgery.

…

For people with other types of paralysis, the use of artificial muscles could someday mean regaining the ability to smile or control the bladder. Reanimating faces is a natural first step in developing synthetic muscles to control other parts of the body, said UC Davis otolaryngologist Craig Senders.

If you have the slightest interest in medical technology or just want to see how hard researchers are working – I HIGHLY recommend reading this article. Go humans!

Read full article HERE.

Joel Kestenbaum O.D. is a VSP provider in Long Island, NY.

In today’s guest blog post from Dr. Joel Kestenbaum of Optix Eyecare in Long Island, NY, he discusses protective eyewear and winter sports …

The 2010 Winter Olympics are upon us.  Lets take a look at the common attributes most Winter Olympians have:

• Athletic ability
• Drive and determination
• Support of family and friends
• Excellent vision

If you look at all the skiers, snowboarders, speed skaters, lugers and bobsledders, they are all wearing some sort of protective eyewear.  How do they know which lenses to wear?  What if it is cloudy, sunny, snowing, sleeting, raining, foggy, nighttime, or early morning?

Think Safety First

You can be certain that the lenses in an athlete’s goggles are made of polycarbonate.  For fast-moving winter sports, this material is much more impact-resistant than glass or conventional plastic. The frame also needs to be lightweight and flexible reducing the likelihood of the lens breaking or popping out in a bad fall.  Prescription lenses can be made for inserts that sit behind the shield of the goggle or some goggles are actually made to wear over a regular pair of eyeglasses.

Think Visual Efficiency Next

Black, gray, or smoke lenses

Best for bright conditions – they dim the bright sunlight to ease the strain on your eyes. Depending on the intensity of the tint, these lenses do darken your vision but gray does not alter color.  These lenses are best for wide-open areas, especially on sunny days.  One should not ski or snowboard in trees or trails with dark lenses.

Amber Lenses
Amber is a color in between a light brown and a dark yellow lens.  Amber blocks blue light, greatly increases contrast.  This color is a good choice for seeing moguls out on the slopes.  Amber is best for under cloudy skies or on dimly lit trails but is not recommended for sunny days.

Brown or Bronze Lenses
I love brown lenses.  They are a good “all around” lens color choice.  Brown improves contrast, clarity, and depth perception.  Brown filters out blue light waves thereby enhancing shades of green in trees, bushes, and grass.  Brown is best for daytime skiing and snowboarding in good weather.

Vermilion, Red or Rose Lenses
Red lenses, usually referred to as “rose” or “vermilion,” will increase contrast and brighten cloudy, dreary days. It is important to remember that this color lens distorts real world colors.  This fact is probably not important on the slopes.  These lenses are not suitable for bright, sunny days.

Yellow Lenses
Yellow works best in foggy, hazy conditions. Yellow increases clarity even in dense fog.

Best for: Skiing or snowboarding in the early morning fog.  Yellow is not for bright, sunny days.

Clear Lenses
Clear lenses do not alter your vision and work great in dark conditions when you still need to protect your eyes from wind, debris, and harmful UV rays. They are best suited for dark conditions, such as night skiing and snowboarding.

Polarized Lenses

Polarized lenses block reflected glare off the horizontal plane and are great when it’s bright out. But they may not be ideal near the end of the day when long shadows appear in the snow, because they are usually made with a darker tint than most sun lenses.  Polarized lenses are not suitable if you ski moguls or for nighttime use.

Anti-Fog

Look for anti-fogging features, UV protection and scratch resistance.  Some goggles have double lenses that discourage condensation from forming when the warm air of your breath makes contact with the cold lens.

And most importantly, athletes need excellent quality vision.  Whether you prefer eyeglasses or contact lenses, make sure your optometrist takes his or her time determining your best visual correction.

Stay safe on the slopes and enjoy the 2010 Winter Olympics!

Dr. Joel Kestenbaum

www.optixeyecare.com

That’s right! VSP will send you and three friends to the 2010 Transitions PGA Championship for Healthy Sight!

Need more details about the prize?

Well, VSP and Transitions are teaming up to offer a lucky fan and three friends a free trip to the 2010 Transitions PGA Championship for Healthy Sight at the Innisbrook Golf Club and Resort in Florida on March 19 – 21 including:

• Roundtrip airfare for 4 to Tampa + transportation to and from airport to Resort
• 2 Double Occupancy hotel rooms at Innisbrook Resort for three nights (Friday, Saturday, Sunday)
• Tickets to Championship for (3rd Round) Saturday and (Final Round) Sunday
• Admission to Links & Drinks event featuring special guest Pro Golfer John Mallinger
• Nike Sunwear
• Private consultation with kinesiologist for swing improvement
• HD Flip Camera

Sound good?

The sweepstakes is open to legal residents of  the United States (except Florida, New York & Rhode Island) who are at least 18 years of age.

Act now!

Entries are only accepted until February 29 at 11:59 p.m! You can be our lucky winner! Go to VSP’s Facebook Fan Page to enter, and while you are there, become a fan of VSP!