Programs - Native American Vision

Native American Vision

American Indians suffer disproportionately from higher rates of preventable and treatable eye conditions due to a lack of access to affordable, quality eye care. Some of the most prominent barriers to care include poverty, geographic isolation, and the lack of linguistically and culturally appropriate eye care providers.

Seva’s goal with the Native American Vision (NAV) is to improve eye health through collaborative, locally based partnerships. We focus on the most common and treatable eye health issues found in American Indian communities including the need for eye health screening, medical treatment, and eyeglasses. With local partners in New Mexico, Alaska, Washington, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin, we are reducing the barriers to quality eye care in American Indian communities.

One of Seva’s NAV partners, Oklahoma City Indian Clinic (OKCIC), provided care to more than 20,000 Native American patients in central Oklahoma since partnering with Seva. Among them was Skyler, a 22-year woman who was struggling with frequent headaches and poor vision. This led to many missed days of work and impacted her performance on the job. Despite having had these issues for some time, Skyler had not been able to get an eye exam for over five years because of stringent restrictions at her local eye care provider, which allowed care for only minor children, or senior citizens.

Through the partnership with Seva, OKCIC was able to expand their capacity for treatment by 33%, and allowed them to offer new services, including contact lenses. This in turn enabled OKCIC to drop patient restrictions and opened the door for Skyler to receive care. Since receiving her new pair of glasses, Skyler reports that her vision has vastly improved and now she can work all day on her computer without getting headaches.

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