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Rehabilitation Services - Vision Independence Program
Inpatient & Outpatient

Hours of Operation:
by appointment, 274-6180 

The Vision Independence Program is for adults with visual impairments due to age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, retinitis pigmentosa, albinism and retinal detachments.

The program teaches patients how to perform daily activities using alternative methods or equipment to maximize usable vision.  Anyone who has vision loss that cannot be restored through traditional methods such as eye glasses and/or surgery would benefit from the program.  The program is led by an optometrist who works closely with the patient's eye doctor to ensure successful outcomes.

Appointments can be scheduled by calling CCMH's Irwin Rehabilitation Center at 814-274-6180.

Vision Independence

by Daniel Schott, O.D.

Severe vision loss is an event that everyone fears and there is no disputing that it will significantly affect a person’s ability to function. However, it does not necessarily mean that patients cannot do those things they enjoy most. 

The leading causes of vision loss in our area are macular degeneration and retinal complications from diabetes. Macular degeneration is caused by damage to the retinal pigment epithelial cells in the eye. These are the cells that absorb excess ultraviolet or UV light that enters the eye and provide nutrients to the cells that do the seeing in the eye. Risk factors for macular degeneration include heredity, smoking, UV light exposure, cardiovascular disease, and race (Caucasians have lower pigment levels and thus are at greater risk than others). To lower the risk of getting macular degeneration patients should eat a balanced diet, exercise, stop smoking, and be sure eyeglasses/sunglasses are protective against UV light. Finally, increasing the intake of antioxidant vitamins like A, C, and E, and antioxidant minerals like iron, zinc, and copper, are also believed to protect against macular degeneration. For those with diabetes, the best way to avoid retinal complications is to keep blood sugar under control. 

Once a person has lost vision, the Vision Independence program at Charles Cole Memorial Hospital will identify a patient’s goals. These may be general goals such as regaining the ability to read, or more specific goals such as being able to see a musical score in order to sing or play in the church choir. We then work with patients to determine which optical or non-optical adaptive aids best help them to accomplish their goals. These may be simple things like a bifocal or magnifying glass or more complex equipment like closed circuit televisions which allow us to achieve up to 56x magnification without losing optical quality like we do with magnifiers. This is done through the use of a camera and monitor system.  After selecting the appropriate adaptive device, our occupational therapists train patients to use the equipment and teach techniques to help them get the maximum performance out of the vision they have left. 

At the Vision Independence program, we use the glass is half full approach to vision rehabilitation. Instead of focusing on what’s wrong with a patient or how much vision a patient has lost, we look at what visual assets a patient still has left and how we can use those visual assets to help patients perform tasks they love or need to do.