CooperCompanies' Vision Business Facilitates Special Olympics “Opening Eyes” CE Series

As part of its ongoing partnership with the Special Olympics Lions Clubs International Foundation Opening Eyes® program, CooperCompanies’ vision care business, CooperVision, is helping to facilitate a new continuing education series for eye care professionals (ECPs). The coursework explores ocular and general health concerns for people with intellectual and development disabilities (IDD) to enhance quality of and access to care.

The seven-course series aims to shine a light on the disparity experienced by those with IDD and educate ECPs so they can better meet the unique needs of this group. The next CE webinar—Refractive Error & Strabismus & Ambylopia, Oh My! Management Tips for those with IDD—will take place on Tuesday, January 18th, at 9 p.m. EST. It will be presented by Katie Connolly, OD, FAAO, Associate Clinical Professor and Chief of Pediatric and Binocular Vision Services at the Indiana University School of Optometry.

“By increasing knowledge of the health and clinical considerations for the IDD community, while also providing practical training opportunities for eye care professionals and optometry students, we can and will change lives,” said Dr. Karen Walsh of CooperVision’s Global Professional Affairs team. “CooperVision is dedicated to helping people see better each day—exactly what we’re trying to accomplish through this partnership with Special Olympics.”

The first two courses, “Shedding a Light on Eye Care and Health Disparities for Those with IDD” and “Common Visual Impairments in Those with IDD”—as well as all future courses in the series— are on-demand in the Special Olympics Learning Portal. Each course provides one hour of Council on Optometric Practitioner Education (COPE) continuing education credits.

In April 2021, CooperVision—in partnership with Optometry Giving Sight and Special Olympics—committed $300,000 through 2023 to support the Special Olympics Lions Clubs International Foundation Opening Eyes® program. The joint initiative provides Special Olympics athletes with increased access to eye health screenings, prescription eyewear and sports goggles.

To learn more about this partnership, visit CooperCompanies’ most recent ESG report here.

To register for this continuing education course, please visit https://bit.ly/OpeningEyesJan18.