InFocus

InFOCUS began in 1987 as an outreach project of the University of Houston College of Optometry. The project developed and tested an optical device, the FOCOMETER® to measure visual errors. The instrument is currently used in over 40 countries around the world. Thousands have benefited from our program. In 1995 InFOCUS was chartered as a non-profit organization. Its goals are to promote ways for underserved communities to gain access to high-quality, low-cost eye care services.

To provide primary eye care services to improve vision, prevent blindness, and promote health education to all populations, beginning with those most in need and hardest to serve due to poverty or geographic remoteness.

Through others, the work of InFOCUS is being done all over the world including the United States. The Vision Station program was developed to increase access to basic vision care for indigent families in the U.S. Our program is currently in Texas with plans to expand to other states. The strategy is to establish Vision Stations at churches, clinics and social centers serving the poor. At each location, staffs are trained to assess vision needs, provide eye-health education, refer patients to eye doctors for exams, and, if eyeglasses are prescribed, dispense appropriate eyeglasses from an onsite dispensary. Patients pay a nominal amount. The proceeds of spectacle sales help defray the cost of the program. InFOCUS also offers Primary Eye Care and Focometry workshops to train people how to use the FOCOMETER®, an optical device that measures visual errors. The training is geared toward mission team members, health/social service providers and medical volunteers, who want to promote eye care, assess vision and dispense eyeglasses in other countries. Training includes: How to use the FOCOMETER; How to measure visual acuity; How the eye works; How to recognize common sight problems; How to dispense eyeglasses; and How to promote eye health and safety.

Today there are 14 organizations operating InFOCUS Vision Stations. All programs are currently in Texas. Each Vision Station sees approximately 500 to 1,000 patients a year. That is roughly 7,000 to 14,000 people a year who receive vision care. Our goal is to open more Vision Stations not just in Texas but Nationwide. Internationally, thousands of trained volunteers use the FOCOMETER® to conduct eye clinics in over 50 countries. A survey conducted by InFOCUS showed that on each visit, a mission team typically sees 100 to 500 patients on each visit. Over a million people have benefited from our program

Bolivia, China, Cambodia, El Salvador, Ecuador, Fiji, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Ukraine, Latvia, Lithuania, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Russian Federation, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Province of China, Tanzania, United Republic of, Thailand, Uganda, United States, Venezuela, Viet Nam

19728 Saums Rd. PMB #136

Houston, TX 77084

Phone: (281) 398-7525

www.infocusonline.org

EIN: 76-0465906