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I can see clearly now

Photo By Senior Master Sgt. Elizabeth Gilbert | U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Autumn Rodriguez, Naval Ophthalmic Support and Training...... read more read more

CORTLAND, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES

07.18.2016

Story by Staff Sgt. Kristina Overton

136th Airlift Wing (Texas Air National Guard)

“Ok sir, try and read line six for me.”

The patient squints through the phoroptor at the thick black letters that appear prominently on the Snellen Eye Test on the wall facing him. He struggles to read the next sequence.

“P…E….F…”

After the completion of the exam, the optometrist concludes that the patient has 20/40 vision, and will need to a new pair of glasses to improve his eyesight.

For a good majority of patients taking advantage of services through the Greater Chenango Cares Innovation Readiness Training in Cortland, New York, this scenario is a common reoccurrence. Among the services offered through the IRT, optometry is one of the most needed, averaging more than 100 patients a day.

“We give out eye exams for adults and children,” said U.S. Air Force Capt. Brett Ringger, 136th Medical Group optometry officer in charge, “anyone who’s having difficulty seeing or worries about their vision. We have had a few patients that have some surgical issues that we've had to refer out for further care, but there is no one we haven't been able to see.”

The pre-screening process for patients includes a variety of vision tests to include eye pressure checks, eye muscle control and auto-refraction testing. Patients are then sent to the optometrist who conducts a series of specialized testing. This consists of refraction, to get the patients prescription, as well as checking the back of the patients eye and overall eye health.

“We have wonderful equipment here,” Ringger said. “It’s a wonderful setting and the patients are great. This is what I love to do, to come to help people. It’s a great way to see a bunch of people in a short time and take care of individuals who may not have been seen otherwise.”

Once the session is complete, the patient can check out and order their prescription. That information is then taken to optical fabrication, where the glasses are made.

There are four active-duty opticians from the Naval Ophthalmic Support and Training Activity, in Yorktown, Virginia, at the Naval Weapons Station, who provide this service. The team has already produced more than 400 pairs of glass in the last three days of the training mission for both Cortland and Norwich. Each prescription takes about five minutes to complete.

The process begins with the opticians pulling the specific frames and lenses for the order. There are five frame choices and a plethora of lenses to fill orders according to the patients optical necessity. This is followed by a verification and tracking process to ensure that accountability of all items are maintained in the event that if supplies run low, they are able to reorder from the NOSTRA headquarters. After the selection, the items move to the spotting and blocking stations.

“Spotting is the process of taking the lens and putting it on the axis of where the center of the prescription is going to be located,” said U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Autumn Rodriguez, NOSTRA optician. “This is signified by three red dots. After which, we take the lens to the blocking station to determine how far we will need to move it in, up or down for the best fit. A block is then secured to the glass which, when we move it over the edger, will enable the machine to cut out the lens to fit the size needed for the glasses.”

The edger is like a key machine with each frame has its own unique pattern. After the lens is edged to the preferred shape and de-blocked, it is almost ready to mount into the frame. For safety, the lenses are buffed to remove sharp edges, inserted into the frames, and then inspected for quality to final check the prescription before distribution.

Patients are able to pick up their “new eyes” the next day.