Eye Institute Buys New Mobile Unit

The Jules Stein Eye Institute at the UCLA School of Medicine has purchased a $257,000 mobile unit that will be used to offer free eye care to residents in low-income neighborhoods.

The 38-foot mobile unit houses the UCLA Mobile Eye Clinic that will visit schools, clinics, senior citizens centers and social service agencies three times a week to evaluate eye care needs, said Linda Valliant, administrator of the unit’s volunteer and fund-raising group. During the summer, the unit will schedule stops at Indian reservations near Palm Springs.

“We focus on medically underserved populations,” Valliant said. “These are people that don’t have insurance and don’t have access to regular medical care.”

The program, which began in 1975 and is believed to be the only one of its kind in Los Angeles, examines 5,000 people each year.

Patients are given basic eye examinations and, if needed, are referred for further treatment. About 30% of patients examined require more treatment.

In some cases, a patient needing eye surgery may get it at a reduced price or at no cost, said Dr. Bartley Mondino, director of the Jules Stein Institute.

Children who are found to have bad vision are often fitted with a free pair of glasses by Frame-N-Lens, Mondino said.