Middlesex Community College Provides Free Community Eyecare

By Yvonne Page

“It’s estimated that in Connecticut, some 5,000 people per year are not getting the eye care they need because they have no insurance and no way to pay for it,” said Middlesex Community College’s (MxCC) Ophthalmic Design & Dispensing Professor, Rene “Skip” Rivard. So, in 1997, he made it his mission to change that by creating an ongoing community program called Project Eyecare, which would provide free services to patients who couldn’t otherwise afford optical exams and eyewear.

Ten years later, Project Eyecare is still going strong. This year’s event, which wrapped up on April 9th, serviced over sixty-five people from the Eddy Center, St. Vincent dePaul Society, the Shepherd Home, and Youth and Family Services of Rocky Hill. John B. Franklin, M. D., of Consulting Ophthalmologists, PC, in Farmington and Glastonbury, and Hal Ostrom, OD, of Clinton Eye Associates, in Clinton provided free eye exams while upcoming graduates of MxCC’s Ophthalmic Design & Dispensing program completed measurements, ordered, and fit eyewear for the patients. Lenses were donated by Encore Optical, Hoya Optical, McLeod Optical, and Precision Optical. Food and refreshments for waiting patients were donated by the South End Market-John’s Catering from Middletown and The Connecticut Opticians Association.

Second-year students, Jason Oliveira and Jaime Loftus, coordinated this year’s project while Professor Rivard and lab assistant, Jim Susco, acted as facilitators.

“This project provides an opportunity for our students to recognize the need to use their education to provide a service within their community. The benefits of this lesson should follow them throughout their career,” says Rivard.

Student coordinator, Jason Oliveira agreed, “It’s a terrific learning event. This is an opportunity for all of my classmates in the Ophthalmic Design & Dispensing program to give back to the community.” For more information about Project Eyecare or the Ophthalmic Design & Dispensing program at MxCC, please contact Professor Rivard at (860) 343-5846.

Caption reads: Project Eyecare student coordinators, Jaime Loftus of Watertown and Jason Oliveira of Rocky Hill get ready for the event with Professor Rene “Skip” Rivard of Rocky Hill, at MxCC.

Caption reads: Dr. John B. Franklin performs an eye exam during this year’s Project Eyecare at MxCC.