UAB Synopsis, Vol. 26, No. 28, July 30, 2007

The UAB Center for Low Vision Rehabilitation has been remodeled, expanded, and is now open on the fourth floor of the Callahan Eye Foundation Hospital. It is the state’s first fully integrated low vision rehabilitation center and is unique in that it includes occupational therapy and psychol- ogy as components of care, together with the expertise of professionals in the fields of ophthalmology and optometry.

Low vision is defined as vision not correctable by standard glasses, contact lenses, medicine, or surgery. The result of conditions such as macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, stroke, or brain injury, it affects 1 in 20 Americans.

Associate Professor of Ophthalmology Dawn DeCarlo, OD, MS, directs the center. “The new facility offers patients a more user-friendly environment, while maintaining all the services and treatments previously available, including the state’s only scanning laser ophthalmoscope as well as the latest portable video magnifiers,” Dr. DeCarlo says. “Low vision can be debilitating, but patients can maintain their independence and quality of life when the appropriate adaptive equipment such as magnifying glasses and electronic magnification systems are prescribed. Another key component is the training — our occupational therapists are experts in maximizing efficiency on vision- related tasks. Additionally, they are trained to identify and help patients manage safety issues so they can avoid serious complications of vision impairment, such as falls.”

The center, which opened in 2002 and is operated jointly by the Department of Ophthalmology and the School of Optometry, now has 3311 square feet of clinic and office space configured to enhance patient care and facilitate research initiatives, she says.

The center’s team approach aims to meet the broad physical, social, and emotional needs of people with vision impairment. In addition, it is dedicated to:

• Training researchers, eye care providers, allied health professionals, and educators.
• Providing comprehensive vision rehabilitation aimed at preserving people’s independence and improving their quality of life.
• Reducing and eliminating physical, social, educational, financial, vocational, and environmental barriers to permit access to vision rehabilitation services.
• Advancing vision rehabilitation know-ledge through innovation and research.
• Offering community education and outreach to increase awareness of vision impairment and rehabilitation.
• Providing rehabilitative psychology services for patients and their family members in adapting to low vision impairment.
• Offering community education and outreach to increase awareness of vision impairment and rehabilitation.
• Providing rehabilitative psychology services for patients and their family members in adapting to low vision impairment.
• Offering community education and outreach to increase awareness of vision impairment and rehabilitation.
• Providing rehabilitative psychology services for patients and their family members in adapting to low vision impairment.
• Offering community education and outreach to increase awareness of vision impairment and rehabilitation.
• Providing rehabilitative psychology services for patients and their family members in adapting to low vision impairment.
  

Lanning B. Kline, MD, professor and chair of the Department of Ophthalmology, says, “The partnership of our department with the optometry school in the Center for Low Vision Rehabilitation is a win-win situation. The new facility allows us to provide the best care for patients, and with Dr. DeCarlo’s leadership, to take the research program to an even higher level.”

In addition to Dr. DeCarlo, the center’s staff includes Codirector Marsha S. Snow, OD, associate professor of optometry; Laura E. Dreer, PhD, assistant professor of ophthalmology; and occupational therapist Jennifer L. Bell, OTR/L.