Jeffry Gerson, OD (l) and
A. Paul Chous, MA, OD.

RANCHO CORDOVA, Calif.—To raise awareness about diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration (AMD), which are two of the leading causes of blindness in adults, affecting nearly 10 million people in the U.S., VSP Vision Care and its new campaign partner, ZeaVision, will launch this year’s VSP Eye on Wellness next month. Now in its fourth year, the campaign will provide free Eye on Diabetes and Eye on AMD continuing education seminars for optometrists. Featured speakers will be A. Paul Chous, MA, OD, FAAO, and Jeffry Gerson, OD, FAAO.

VSP Mobile Eyes will also continue to partner with local VSP doctors to provide free eye exams and eyeglasses to residents in need during the campaign. Comprehensive eye exams and health risks assessments for AMD will be conducted using ZeaVision’s QuantifEye MPOD (macular pigment optical density) measurement instrument.

"ZeaVision is very pleased to partner with VSP in this important initiative,” said Chris Barber, president of ZeaVision. “ZeaVision’s mission is to preserve and enhance vision through ocular nutrition and technology, and we’re excited to expand our reach and impact in these communities through this endeavor.”

VSP Eye on Wellness will launch in San Francisco on July 20, 2014, with the first of eight free COPE-approved continuing education (CE) courses. Following that, four hours of CE on AMD or diabetes will then be offered to all licensed optometrists in Arizona, California, Georgia, Illinois, New York, Ohio, South Carolina and Texas in subsequent months.

“VSP’s mission is to help people see,” said Jim McGrann, president of VSP Vision Care. “By expanding the VSP Eye on Wellness program, we can increase patient awareness and access to care while providing doctors with the most up-to-date information to provide the highest quality of care for those who have or are at risk for diabetes and AMD.”