Prevention of Blindness Society of Metropolitan Washington

POB, the largest local prevention of blindness agency in the United States, is dedicated to the improvement and preservation of sight by providing services, education, advocacy and innovation.

Why do we exist?

Founded in 1936, the Prevention of Blindness Society of Metropolitan Washington® (POB), the largest local prevention of blindness agency in the United States, is dedicated to the improvement and preservation of sight by providing services, education, advocacy and innovation. POB screens more than 7,500 children annually for vision loss and strabismus and 5,000 adults for glaucoma. POB also serves nearly 8,000 low-income and homeless persons at its eyeglasses clinic. POB sponsors the Aging Eye Network, the Macular Degeneration Network and Stargardt's Network.

POB is different from other causes because it doesn’t just provide one kind of service or care for one kind of person. It cares for children, adults, and the elderly, the working poor and the homeless, the uninsured or underinsured. It provides the services and support that a fast-growing older population with eye diseases like age-related macular degeneration (AMD) are facing.   AMD has become a leading cause of vision loss in Americans 60 years of age and older. POB’s mission is to meet the needs of these populations in need of specialty health services at low- or no-cost.

What have you accomplished?

The Prevention of Blindness Society of Metropolitan Washington (POB) provides vision screening to more than 7,500 school-aged children in Maryland, northern Virginia, and Washington, DC each year. Schools and community organizations choose POB to provide vision screenings because POB's screening team has excellent rapport with children; POB provides referrals for children who are identified as having a vision problem, and follow-up to ensure they are receiving the medical attention they need; more than 90 percent of referrals seek help due to POB’s follow-up; and POB helps children whose families need financial assistance. Here is one testimonial from the Rodriguez Family* in Washington, DC: (*Names have been changed)

 “I can attest to the Prevention of Blindness Society of Metropolitan Washington’s comprehensive follow-up referral program. My daughter had received a non-passing score when she was screened by POB’s children’s vision screeners at her school, and I received a referral letter with her score for the eye doctor. After a few weeks, I received a call from the follow-up team checking to make sure she had been scheduled to see an ophthalmologist and what the results were. Sadly, I had forgotten and misplaced the original referral letter!

POB was gracious enough to send me another referral letter. Again I received another follow-up call within a few weeks asking for the completed referral form from the ophthalmologist. She was diagnosed with amblyopia and is now wearing an eye patch and glasses to help strengthen the eye that was not being used. Without POB’s children’s screening program, there is a good chance Sophie’s vision problems would have gone undetected and she could have permanently lost vision in this eye. I am extremely grateful for POB and their bugging ways!”

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