CHICAGO—Prevent Blindness has announced that VOSH/International (V/I) is the winner of its 2022 Jenny Pomeroy Award for Excellence in Vision and Public Health. In addition, the organization announced that Marissa K. Shoji, MD, Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, and Hursuong Vongsachang, MPH, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health are co-recipients of the third annual Rising Visionary Award. All award recipients will present at the 11th Annual Prevent Blindness Focus on Eye Health National Summit, to be held virtually on July 13-14, 2022. The award recipients were chosen by an all-volunteer selection committee.

The committee consists of leaders and professionals in the ophthalmology, optometry, advocacy, public health and scientific communities.

Each year, Prevent Blindness presents the Jenny Pomeroy Award for Excellence in Vision and Public Health to “an individual, team or organization that has made significant contributions to the advancement of public health related to vision and eye health at the community, state, national and/or international level,” Prevent Blindness said in a statement. The award is named after Jenny Pomeroy, CEO of Prevent Blindness Georgia from 1996 through 2013, in recognition of her work in advocating for funding and expanding public health programs and services for vision and eyecare.

Volunteer-based VOSH/International “was selected for the Jenny Pomeroy Award for Excellence in Vision and Public Health for its commitment to providing access to quality eyecare for underserved communities,” said Prevent Blindness. V/I’s mission is to facilitate the provision and sustainability of vision care by supporting eye clinics, optometry schools and optometric educators in areas lacking sufficient eyecare.

The programs include sharing U.S. optometric expertise with international schools of optometry through lecturing, mentorship, equipment donation and organizing educational and networking events. V/I also collects data from clinical work to generate evidence and public health policy action to integrate eyecare within local health care systems worldwide. V/I was founded in 1972, and as of 2022 there are over 98 VOSH regional, state and school chapters around the world.

 
Marissa K. Shoji, MD (l) and Hursuong Vongsachang, MPH.
 
The Prevent Blindness Rising Visionary Award is awarded to “an optometry student or resident, ophthalmology resident, primary health care, nursing, or other health professional student or resident in the U.S. who has the best essay based on a question related to the 2022 Focus on Eye Health National Summit theme, ‘Eye-conic Approaches to Eye Health,’” Prevent Blindness said.

Dr. Shoji’s essay, “A Guiding Light: A Vision for the Future,” addressed racial and gender disparities in eyecare. Her work outlined the need for a national program focusing on fostering diversity in ophthalmology, including recruitment of individuals at all stages of training, from interested high school students to fully-licensed practitioners with special emphasis on both underrepresented minorities and women.

Dr. Vongsachang’s submission detailed the need and benefit for school-based vision care to be available widely and sustainably. She hopes that her current work in program implementation can one day translate into nationwide availability of school-based vision services through advocacy, stakeholder engagement and continued research. Her goal is to bridge gaps in vision care access for children in need.

Jeff Todd, president and CEO of Prevent Blindness, said, “We congratulate all of our Award recipients, including VOSH/International, Dr. Shoji and Ms. Vongsachang. We invite everyone to view their presentations at the upcoming Focus on Eye Health National Summit.”

For more information on the Prevent Blindness Jenny Pomeroy Award for Excellence in Vision and Public Health, the Rising Visionary Award, or the Focus on Eye Health National Summit, please visit PreventBlindness.org, or contact Nita Sinha, director of Public Health, at npatelsinha@preventblindness.org.