Triton schools offer free vision screening

SUBMITTED PHOTO.

Medical students helped perform vision screenings for students and families at Triton. The service was offered at no cost.

Students and families of the Triton Public School District were recently able to get a vision screening done free of charge as part of an event put on by school nurse Andrea Possehl.
Possehl said she is always on the lookout for resources to help students.
She heard about the opportunity during a meeting with other area nurses, and was persistent in connecting with Beth Kangas, executive director for the Zumbro Valley Medical Society.
“They lined up the cohort of medical students who came to provide vision screenings for all ages,” Possehl said.
She said if basic issues with distance vision were identified, the group also was able to provide a free pair of glasses at the end of the screening.
“Anyone who has been to the eye doctor and had to pay for prescription glasses knows what a savings this is for our students and families,” Possehl said. “We were also able to keep track of who was seen and received glasses, so if there are issues, a replacement pair can be obtained as well — which is an amazing thing for our students.”
Possehl said after she was able to find the right connections, “it was pretty quick to get things in place.
“We were able to have them come on a night when we were hosting our Kindergarten Round-up and our Title One Family Night,” she said. “Flyers and communications were sent out to the Triton community to get the word out, and a system was set up to schedule appointments along with walk-in availability.”
Possehl said because the service was free, no funding was needed.
“The amount of benefit for our community was well worth the tracking and time that it took to get it set up,” she said.
Possehl said she was “absolutely blown away by the professionalism, the spirit of service and the care that went into this clinic.
“Seeing students leave with a new pair of glasses and literally a new view of the world was absolutely priceless,” she said. “Those are the moments that school nurses live for. Words cannot express my gratitude to everyone who helped make connections, donate their time, wrangle schedules and support our students’ education with clear vision.
“We hope to have them back in the fall during our back to school activities, and hopefully have an even bigger population of our Triton community take part in this amazing opportunity.”