Free Vision Screenings at Boston's City Hall Plaza on World Sight Day, Thursday, October 14

BOSTON, Oct. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Schepens Eye Research Institute has joined forces with local Lions Clubs, Perkins School for the Blind, the Massachusetts Commission for the Blind, and the Women's Eye Health Organization (based at Schepens) to celebrate World Sight Day on Thursday, October 14, in Boston's City Hall Plaza from 10 am to 2 pm.

World Sight Day is an annual day of awareness to focus global attention on blindness, visual impairment and rehabilitation of the visually impaired. The day is observed around the world by any organization involved in preventing visual impairment or restoring sight. It is also the main advocacy event for the prevention of blindness and for "Vision 2020: The Right to Sight," a global effort to prevent blindness created by the World Health Organization and the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness.

The Schepens-led Boston organizations will dedicate the day to increasing awareness of the need to prevent and treat blindness, which affects nearly four percent of the world's population. Each organization will display information about good eye health practices. Schepens Eye Research Institute will also provide information about the latest research to eliminate blinding diseases.

At the event, the Lions Clubs will staff two eye mobiles that will offer free vision screening as well as hearing and blood pressure screening. During the screenings, the public can expect to receive a vision acuity test, glaucoma test, and a retinal picture as well as standard hearing and blood pressure tests.

For additional information on World Sight Day, go to http://www.who.int/mediacentre/events/annual/world_sight_day/en/index.html

For more information about Schepens Eye Research Institute, go to schepens.harvard.edu

Schepens Eye Research Institute is an affiliate of Harvard Medical School and the largest independent eye research institute in the country.

SOURCE Schepens Eye Research Institute