SUNY College of Optometry Gets Grant for China

NEW YORK—The SUNY State College of Optometry recently received a three-year, $430,700 grant from the Lavelle Fund for the Blind to establish a Center of Excellence in Low Vision and Vision Rehabilitation in Wenzhou, China. This is the first such center in the region.

In partnership with Wenzhou Medical College Eye Hospital, the SUNY faculty and its affiliates will be utilized to provide upgraded and expanded vision care services for low-vision patients; increase the number of qualified low-vision practitioners and paraprofessionals by implementing a train-the-trainer educational model; and develop replicable models of care delivery for the visually impaired and blind throughout China, according to the SUNY college.

The Lavelle Fund for the Blind is dedicated to supporting programs that promote the spiritual, moral, intellectual, and physical development of blind and low-vision people of all ages, together with programs that help people avoid vision loss, an announcement said. ■