La Alianza Hispana

MAB held low vision assessments at La Alianza Hispana community center in November, offering information on vision loss to Hispanic community members.

Many seniors do not receive regular vision care and are at risk of losing their vision due to cataracts, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy or macular degeneration. MAB and the New England Eye Institute partner to provide low vision screenings in the community, in hope of finding these at-risk seniors.

Vision screenings are a simple way to identify whether a person is experiencing difficulty with his or her vision and needs follow up eye care or vision rehabilitation. Vision loss makes it difficult to manage daily tasks and live safely. For example, people with low vision suffer three times as many falls that result in hip fractures as the sighted population. The average cost of a hip fracture requiring surgery is $37,000 and 29% of elders who break a hip die within a year. Through its initiatives to provide low vision management aid to seniors, MAB aims to maintain and improve their safety and ultimately their quality of life. The screenings at La Alianza Hispana demonstrate these efforts.

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