News

Reported By: Beth Galvin | Edited By: Leigha Baugham

ATLANTA (MyFOX ATLANTA) - Located on the backside of the Georgia's Lion's Club Lighthouse Foundation on Clairmont Road Wednesday was a free eye clinic.

Carolyn Allen hasn't had her eyes examined for three or four years, and on her visit Wednesday, they were bothering her.

"They were running a whole lot, and the reading glasses I was buying in the store weren't working," said Allen. The 54-year-old Atlanta woman received a full eye exam she said she couldn't have afforded without the free clinic.

"It's expensive, getting your eye exam and getting your glasses, and in my case, it helps a lot," Allen said.

"The majority of our patients are the working poor, they have jobs, or they're looking for work," said Christina Lennon.

On a typical day, volunteer optometrists like Dr. Kelly Spetalnisk and her colleagues will examine dozens of patients. "We're seeing more and more people coming in. They're almost apologetic for why they're here, 'I've never had to use these services before. I've been out of a job for a year, I've lost my glasses.' It's a different story that you hear nowadays, a broader range of people that are coming in here now," said Dr. Spetalnisk.

Demand for the Lighthouse Foundation's clinics is up 30 percent this year, because of the number of Georgians without health insurance. "Vision care is very difficult because even if you have insurance, you don't always have vision insurance, even people with Medicaid. Medicaid doesn't cover glasses in most cases," said Lennon.

The Lighthouse Foundation holds 17 clinics every month across Georgia and for a lot of the clients they serve, there is more at stake than just trying on and finding the right pair of glasses. About 30 percent of the clinics clients have diabetes, and about half have high blood pressure. Both are leading causes of blindness that can be prevented with regular care. "So if we can see changes in your eyes, those changes are going on throughout your body, so we may pick up things patients aren't even aware of," said Dr. Spetalnisk.