July 27, 2006

Coeur d’Alene Kiwanis Supports PHD Vision Program

COEUR d’ALENE--Panhandle Health District and about 900 children in the five northern counties will benefit this summer from a $1,000 grant from the Kiwanis Club of Coeur d’Alene.

    The grant will buy special film for PHD’s vision screening program that helps detect potential sight problems. Since July 2002, PHD has screened 1,150 children with the photographic equipment that identifies through instant pictures indications of near- and far-sightedness, astigmatisms, cataracts, lazy eye and more.

    Vision screening is appropriate for all ages. PHD focuses the equipment on its Child Find Developmental Screening and Monitoring Program for children birth to age 3. Vision problems in that age group often are undetected because children don’t speak much yet. The earlier vision problems are detected, the greater the chances of correction.

    PHD refers about 10 percent of children screened to doctors for further evaluation. The Kiwanis grant will provide vision screening for North Idaho children for more than a year.

    For more information about the Child Find Developmental Screening and Monitoring program and vision screening, call Theresa Hylsky, RN,
415-5100.