BUSINESS: The Independent Eye: Optical on Main Street Get Involved This Diabetes-Related Eye Disease Awareness Month By Gwendolyn Plummer Thursday, November 7, 2024 8:30 AM CHICAGO—Prevent Blindness has declared November as Diabetes-Related Eye Disease Awareness Month, dedicated to spreading awareness about the importance of early detection and treatment of diabetes due to the risk of developing significant vision loss and blindness. To further this goal of educating the public, including parents and care partners of those with diabetes and allied health professionals, Prevent Blindness is offering free resources including fact sheets and social media graphics in both English and Spanish, websites and a variety of educational videos. A full list of resources is available here. As November continues, there’s plenty of time for ECPs to get involved and educate their communities this Diabetes-Related Eye Disease Awareness Month. This week, we take a look at how some indies are doing exactly that. In Bakersfield, Calif., Empire Eye and Laser Center’s Andrew A. Kao, MD, shared how diabetes affects the eye. Image via empireeyeandlasercenter on Instagram The Sea Eye Care team in Norfolk, Va., shared a helpful image explaining diabetic retinopathy. Image via seaeyecare on Instagram In Oklahoma, the Kennedy Eyecare team created a detailed Instagram post that explains diabetic eye disease. Image via kennedy_eyecare on Instagram The Big Rapids Family Eyecare team in Big Rapids, Mich., shared some tips to help diabetics keep their vision healthy. Image via bigrapidsfamilyeyecare on Instagram Carolina Eyecare Physicians in South Carolina encouraged patients to schedule a dilated eye exam. Image via carolinaeyecarephysicians on Instagram