Patients see benefits at MxCC student-led eye care clinic

MIDDLETOWN >> Students enrolled in the Middlesex Community College Ophthalmic Design and Dispensing program helped local residents in need at the college’s 24th annual Community Eye Care Day March 6.

Eye care patients first received ocular health assessments by ophthalmologist Dr. Patrick Albergo, of the Connecticut Eye Center, according to a press release. After the exams, a team of OD&D students then took measurements, manufactured and dispensed the eyewear, which were all prepared in the on-campus eyewear clinic.

“Vision is so important, and I am happy to come here and give back to the community,” Albergo said in a prepared statement. “The patients we have seen today really appreciate what we are doing.”

This popular event was conceived as an ongoing community program in 1997 through the efforts of MxCC Professor Skip Rivard. Each year, the student-led clinic provides eye exams and eyewear to area patients who could not otherwise afford these services or have no insurance.

“In Connecticut, about 5,000 people a year are not getting the eye care they need because they are unable to pay for it. This experience shows our students that being a health care provider is not strictly measured by financial benefits. They recognize how their education provides a needed public service within their community. The benefits of this lesson should follow them throughout their career,” Rivard said in the release.

Prior to the event, student project cocoordinators Wren Hallman of Old Lyme and Leslie Amatrudo of Northford contacted several social and human services organizations in Middletown, such as St. Vincent de Paul and Chrysalis Domestic Violence Services, for referrals to the clinic.

“This was a very humbling experience. Middlesex Community College loves to give back, and we feel so lucky to have been given the resources to offer our skills and services to those in need,” said Wren Hallman in the prepared statement.

Leslie Amatrudo agreed, “We had a fantastic team working together to make this a huge success. Being part of this project was a great way to apply our training to a very worthwhile community event.”

During their two years of study in the OD&D program at MxCC, students train to become nationally certified and state licensed as opticians. When licensed by the state, they can design and fit people to eyewear and contact lenses based on the prescription of an ophthalmologist or optometrist.

Precision/PrefRx Optical of East Hartford and Encore-Nikon Optical of South Windsor donated optical lenses and frames. The Connecticut Opticians Association and Sebastian Melilli of Melilli’s Café & Grill in Portland provided refreshments for the program, the release concluded.