UCLA

Mobile Eye Clinic

Annual Report
FY 2017-2018
 Ta b l e o f
Contents

3 A Quick Overview

4 Care Team

6 A Legacy of Compassion

8 A National Dilemma

10 Bringing Sight to the City

12 Extending Our Reach

14 Where did UMEC Go

This Year?

16 The Power of U

2
 UCLA Mobile Eye Clinic Statistics

A Quick Overview
for 2017-2018

“I wanted to take a moment to express my

gratitude to you and all of your staff. It has
been an absolute pleasure working with all of
you. Because of you all, several children
can now see the world a lot clearer and that
makes my heart smile. I hope to continue
this partnership for many years to come. See
you all next school year”
~ Jenny Handy, May 2018
Health Educator, Training and Research Foundation
Head Start

Uncorrected Refractive
Clinic type Trips # Served Referrals Eyeglass Rx's
Error

Preschool 614 14,862 1707 443 1,951

K-12 Schools 42 681 298 51 307

Venice Family Clinic 17 137 12 20 N/A

Community Centers 99 1,462 885 235 1,246

Homeless Outreach 11 130 76 29 118

Health Fairs 5 141 N/A 29 N/A
Care Harbor 1 233 202 187 N/A
TOTALS 789 17,646 3,180 994 3,622

UCLA Mobile Eye Clinic | 2017-18 Annual Report | 3

 Exceptional and Attentive Care,
Care Team

One Patient at a Time

As one of the nation’s top ranked opthalmology hospitals, the UCLA Stein Eye Institute is
dedicated to the preservation of vision and prevention of blindness through exceptional
patient care, cutting-edge research, and education. For over 40 years, the UCLA Mobile Eye
Clinic and its expert team of opthalmologists, technicians, administrators, and volunteers
has been the Stein Eye Institute’s center community outreach and policy program,
providing free eye care services and glasses for underserved communities in Los Angeles
County.

Anne L. Coleman, MD, PhD

UCLA Mobile Eye Clinic Director
Dr. Coleman is the Fran and Ray Stark Foundation Chair in Ophthalmology and
director of the UCLA Mobile Eye Clinic. She is actively involved in national
outreach programs in ophthalmology. A few notable involvements include
serving as the Chair of a 14-member committee of eye health experts overseeing
National Eye Health Educational Program’s education programs, and serving as
a consultant to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Ophthalmic Devices Panel.
She is a former at-large member of the American Academy of Ophthalmology’s
Board of Trustees, president of Women in Ophthalmology, and recipient of the
Academy’s Senior Achievement Award and Secretariat Award.

Since 2003, she has served as Executive Editor of Glaucoma for the American
Journal of Ophthalmology.

Dr. Coleman received her medical degree from the Medical College of Virginia,
completed her fellowship training in glaucoma at the Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns
Hopkins University, and received a PhD in Epidemiology from UCLA.

4 | UCLA Mobile Eye Clinic | 2017-18 Annual Report

 UMEC Ophthalmologists

Care Team
Andrew Young, MD
Andrew Young, MD is the primary senior ophthalmologist for UMEC. He
graduated from UCLA’s MPH | HP program in June 2016 and has been
on the UMEC Staff for over eight years. He has screened and examined
thousands of patients across Los Angeles and will contribute his time and
expertise to providing accessible vision care for both adults and children.
Dr. Young attended Brown University for Medical School and completed his
ophthalmology training and residency at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine
in New York. He completed his Clinical Fellowship in Glaucoma with Robert N.
Weinreb, ND at the University of California, San Diego and the
Hamilton Glaucoma Center in La Jolla, CA.

Laura A. Syniuta, MD
Laura A. Syniuta, MD is our pediatric specialist, having completer her fellowship
training in pediatric ophthalmology and strabismus at UCLA’s Jules Stein Eye
Institute in 1999. Dr. Syniuta’s mission is to identify and treat the eye disorders
specifically related to children, before they interfere with learning and/or self
esteem. She is thrilled to have done just this as a part of UMEC for over eight
years. Her academic background includes a BA from Harvard University and
her MD from Albany Medical College. She spent years doing academic eye
research at Harvard’s Eye Research Insitute in Boston and Columbia’s College
of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City. In addition to UMEC, Dr. Syniuta is
the pediatric ophthalmologist at UCLA’s Stein Eye Center in Santa Monica, CA.
She has also had a pediatric ophthalmology and strabismus practice for nearly
20 years with the Markman & Wolstan Medical Group in Torrance, CA.

Venice Family Clinic - Lawrence Hopp, MD (Not Pictured)

UCLA Mobile Eye Clinic Manager UCLA Mobile Eye Clinic Annual Report
Margarita Gonzalez Editor-in-Chief
Winnie Liu
Public Admininstration Analyst
Kara Mondino Volunteers and Interns
Jessie Chen
Assistant Public Adminstration Analyst Jessica Kim
Pamela Duarte Winnie Liu
Allison Maryoung
Driver/Ophthalmic Assistant Tarin Tanji
Rene Galvan Shannon Tseng

Ophthalmic Assistants
Patricia Aguilar
Jessica Garcia
Yolanda Ochoa
Angela Perez
UCLA Mobile Eye Clinic | 2017-18 Annual Report | 5
 A Legacy of Compassion
Community

Established in 1975 by an anonymous donor, the clinic is the longest continuously

operating eye clinic on wheels in the USA. For more than 40 years, UMEC has been
supporting patient care and screening programs in neighborhoods where poverty and
vision disabilities intersect. UMEC has given the highest quality care to over 300,000
patients and has a long history of working closely with homeless, uninsured, and low-
income communities.

2010-Now
1975
Began annually attending
Care Harbor, a health fair
UCLA Mobile Eye Clinic providing free medical
was established, seeing 613 services to underserved
patients in its first year. communities.
2015
Launched LA
Public Library Program
to provide complete eye
exams and eyeglasses
to the underserved LA
community.

1986 1977-2000 2015-2016

Karl Kirchgessner
Foundation began the Uncle
Claude endowment which
supports UMEC operations
to this day..
Assisted at clinics
on Native American
Reservations, reinforcing
the need for a mobile unit.
Awarded the Innovation
Award for Community
Service from L.A. County
and nominated for the 2016
Healthcare Leadership
Awards.

6 | UCLA Mobile Eye Clinic | 2017-18 Annual Report

 Community
Jan. 2018
2017 Unveiled second Mobile
Unit bus that runs on
Stein Eye Institute environmentally friendly
celebrated its 50 year fuel and features:
anniversary. UMEC was
featured as one of the Summer 2017 - 1 Pre-examination room
- 2 Eye examination rooms
institute’s top community
outreach programs, having LA Public Library program - Computer networking
provided quality care to expanded to include 31 infrastructure
over 300,000 patients. sites. - Security camera system

2017 Sept. 2017 Future

Strengthened Completed vision Plans to collaborate with:
partnerships with screenings for 90,000
existing and new UCLA preschool-aged children Vision to Learn
student clubs such as through a 4.1 million dollar A non-profit organization
Pre-Optometry Society, grant from First 5 LA. that provides free eye
Bruin Vision Project, and exams and eyeglasses to
Black Health Project. underserved children.

Essilor Vision
Foundation
Foundation that reuses
donated frames and lens
for patients in need of
eyeglasses.

UCLA Mobile Eye Clinic | 2017-18 Annual Report | 7

 A National Dilemma
Community

The UCLA Mobile Eye Clinic serves the most vulnerable members of our community. To see well
is to live well, yet vision care is often overlooked as one of society’s least urgent concerns despite
hindering people of all demographics. We aim to fill this gap in vision care accessibility.

1 in 4 5 million
school-age children suffer American adults are not able
from vision problems which to afford the glasses they
are preventable with need, due to high costs or
appropriate screening. lack of accessibility.

One third 8.2%

of diabetics in the of individuals who have
United Statess how signs of some degree of vision
Diabetic Retinopathy, the problems are uninsured,
leading cause of blindness. severely hindering
Many cannot access treatment options.
treatment.

8 | UCLA Mobile Eye Clinic | 2017-18 Annual Report

Our Vision

Community
The UCLA Mobile Eye Clinic (UMEC) envisions a world where all people have equal access to quality eye
care services.

Our Mission
UMEC and its staff of ophthalmologists, ophthalmology residents, technicians, and volunteers make
visits to hundreds of Southern California community locations annually to deliver free vision care to
underserved communities. Ophthalmologists perform free basic eye examinations to determine the
need for prescriptive lenses and to rule out the need for further treatment of any eye condition or
disease.

Our Achievements
UMEC is recognized for its exemplary leadership in shaping the future of healthcare and improving
access to health services and education for children and families in struggling communities. We were
recognized by the Los Angeles Business Journal as a nominee at the 2016 Healthcare Leadership
Forum and Awards.

UCLA Mobile Eye Clinic | 2017-18 Annual Report | 9

 Bringing Sight to the City
Impact

To help combat the lack of vision care accessibility, the UCLA Mobile Eye Clinic recently completed
vision screenings for 90,000 preschool-aged children through a 5 year grant from First 5 LA. UMEC strives to
provide children of underserved communities with the vision aid they need to succeeed in school and in life
by identifying, treating, and preventing vision disorders.

Preschool Vision Screenings

First Five LA 2012-2017

90,000 Total Preschool Children Screened

through First 5 LA

10 | UCLA Mobile Eye Clinic | 2017-18 Annual Report

 Impact
Preschool Vision Screenings
Fiscal Year 2017-2018

443 14,862
of preschoolers were vision screenings
referred to specialists conducted in over 40+
for diseases discovered school districts this
during screening. year.

1,707
preschool screenings this year discovered
uncorrected
refractive error.

UCLA Mobile Eye Clinic | 2017-18 Annual Report | 11

 Extending our Reach:
Impact

A Second Mobile Unit

The UCLA Mobile Eye Clinic continually strives to improve its services as it expands and caters
to a larger population. The new mobile unit, unveiled this year, is only one of the ways UMEC is
upgrading to provide the best services possible at-no cost to patients without access to the care
they need in an ever-growing and changing Los Angeles community.

The 40-foot long bus runs completely on environmentally friendly natural gas and hosts one pre-
examination room, two examination rooms, computer-networking infrastructure, and a security
camera system. These new features will help facilitate patient flow, allow for an increase in patient
screening numbers, and create a safe and comfortable atmosphere for patients and
staff.

12 | UCLA Mobile Eye Clinic | 2017-18 Annual Report

 Impact
In addition to preschool screenings, UMEC also provides eye care to adults during the
summer and early Fall. This year, UMEC left its mark on the lives of hundreds of individuals at
Care Harbor Los Angeles, a large-scale health fair which provides free medical, dental, and vision
care to the underserved, undertreated, and underinsured members of our community. We have
been collaborating with Care Harbor since 2011. Each year, UMEC recruits passionate volunteer
ophthalmologists, technicians, nurses, and students to screen patients for a variety of eye
conditions including, but not limited to, refractive error, glaucoma, and cataracts.

Thanks to our doctors’ and volunteers’ dedication towards serving the community, one of
our patients was in fact able to receive a necessary diagnosis for his advanced glaucoma.

“We’ll make sure that he

sees an eye doctor today
to prevent him from going
blind,”

- Dr. Andrew Young, UMEC

ophthalmologist.

In 2017 alone, UMEC

provided 374 patients with
the vision care which they
needed to see well and live
well.

UCLA Mobile Eye Clinic | 2017-18 Annual Report | 13

 Where did UMEC Go This Year?
Impact

Throughout the school year, UMEC has been busy serving preschools from all over Los Angeles
through First 5 LA, where many children have never had an eye exam. Yet, untreated eye diseases or
poor vision significantly hinder learning at a critical time in their development. Our mobile unit allows
us to bring care directly to preschool patients all over Los Angeles. During the summer, UMEC shifts its
focus to adults and provides free vision care to communities all over Los Angeles, from homeless shelters
to library community centers.

Preschools Served This Year: Cortada Head Start Gonzaque Village

Convenant
A.J. Padelford CDC Crusader
Abbott Preschool Cypress I Head Start
Aeolian Dan T. Williams School
AJ Cannon DD Johnston School
Alatorre DeVan Multipurpose Center
Aldama Dewey Avenue School
Aliso Pico Preschool Discovery
All Peoples Preschool Dolores Huerta Head Start
Aloha Head Start Don Julian Head Start
Amistad Preschool Downey Center
Anderson Downey Preschool Academy
Arlene Bitely School Downey Road
Around the Korner Preschool Eagle Rock
Arroyo Center Early Explorers
Artesia CDC East Whittier
Artesisa Children’s Center Echo Park CDC
Avalon Echo Park Head Start
Azteca Dangler Edgewood Head Start
Azusa High State Preschool Edison Center
Baldwin Park Preschool Academy Ekstrand
Baldwin State Preschool El Caminito Head Start
BCD Head Start El Cariso Head Start
Bell Gardens Elementary El Centro de los Ninos
Bell Gardens Preschool Academy El Jardin Head Start
Bella Vista Elementary El Sereno
Bellflower I CDC ELAOC
Bellflower II CDC Elderidge Rice School
Beta Vista Center Ellington
Blandford State Preschool Emery Park State Preschool
Brethren Emma W. Shuey School
Bright Starts Encinita School
Buen Principio II Head Start Erwin Head Start
California Estrada Learning Center
California State Preschool Euclid Head Start
Camino Nuevo Charter Academy ECEC Evans Head Start
Campos FFC 4 Evergreen Head Start
Canyon Springs State Preschool Evergreen State Preschool
Carmela Fairview Heights
Carmela State Preschool Flanner Head Start
Carver I & II Head Start Flores de Valle
Centinela Bible Church Ford Center
Central Center Foster Road School
Centro Aztlan Fountain Head Start
Ceres State Preschool Frances Willard School
Cerritos College Child Development Center Franklin
Cesar Chavez Head Start Fremont Elementary
Cesar Chavez Preschool Fremont State Preschool
Chapel of Peace Furgeson School
Charter Oak Gallatin
Cherrylee Head Start Garden of Progress Head Start
Chesterfield Garfield Elementary
Christian Fellowship George Sanchez School
CII Central Geraldine P. Woods Head Start
City Terrace Gidley Head Start
Columbia Head Start Gilbert A. Cedillo
Commerce Preschool Glazier School
Corzaon Head Start Gonzalez FCC
Good Beginnings
Good Beginnings Head Start
Good Tidings
Grandview
Green
Green Meadows
Greenleaf
Greenwood Elementary
Gregory Park Head Start
Happy Land Preschool
Harvard
Hawaiian School
Hawlawn
Hawthorne Calvary
Hawthorne Head Start
Hawthorne Plaza
Helen Keller Preschool
Highland Park
Hillcrest School
Hollingworth
Hollingworth State Preschool
Hollywood Head Start
Holmes Center
Huerta School
Humphreys Preschool
Hurley
Hurley State Preschool
Imperial Courts II
Indiana Site
Inglewood Southside
Jefferson/Felton
Jellick
Jellick State Preschool
John Muir Preschool
Jordan Downs
Joseph Gascon Elementary
Kennedy Head Start
Kids Korner Preschool
Kids Prep
Killian State Preschool
La Colima State Preschool
La Escuelita Head Start
La Esperanza Preschool
La Mirada I & II Head Start
La Roca Verde – Gerhart
La Santa Cruz Preschool
Lakeview
Lakewood CDC
Las Flores Preschool
Laurel State Preschool
Le Gore Head Start
Le Va Reed
Learning Center Head Start
Leona Cox State Preschool
Lew Sands Weltor Center
Lincoln
Lincoln Preschool
Lindbergh CDC

14 | UCLA Mobile Eye Clinic | 2017-18 Annual Report

 Impact
Lindsay Center Pomona State Preschool Washington West Preschool
Little Friends Head Start Pool Building Watts II
Little Star Potrero Head Start Watts IV
Little Stars Pueblo de Ninos Watts Towers
Little Steps Head Start Puente Learning Center – East LA Watts VI
Loma Vista State Preschool Rainbow Child Development Center West Adams Alpha
Long Beach Day Nursery, West Branch Ralph Waldo Emerson School Ramona West Blvd
Lorena Terrace Alegria Preschool Ramona Gardens Head Start West Whittier
Los Altos Ramona School Western
Los Altos State Preschool Ramona State Preschool Westminster
Los Colores Head Start Rancho Whitcomb
Lugo Preschool Raymond Wiley Canyon Elementary
Magnolia Repetto State Preschool Wilkerson Head Start
Magnolia Head Start Rio Vista Head Start Will Moore
Main Street Rising Stars Will Rogers CDC
Maizeland Robert F. Kennedy Head Start Will Rogers Preschool
Manchester Rogers Park William Mead Head Start
Mar Vista Head Start Roosevelt Willow I & II Head Start
Mariposa Center Roosevelt Park Center Willowood
Mark Twain Preschool Roosevelt Preschool Willowood State Preschool
Maryvale EEC Roosevelt State Preschol Wilson Preschool
Maud Booth Rorimer Winter Gardens Elementary
McKibben State Preschool Rorimer State Preschool Ybarra
McKinley Rosa Parks Preschool Ybarra State Preschool
McKinley Preschool Rotary Park Ynez State Preschool
Melbourne I & II Head Start Rowland El State Preschool Yorbita
Memorial Park Salazar Park Preschool Yorbita State Preschool
Meneses FCC 6 San Pedro Younger Innovators
Mildred B. Janson School Sanchez School Young Innovators Center
Mint Canyon State Preschool Santa Clarita Head Start Young Scholars
MLK Head Start Santa Clara Head Start Zoe Center 1 & 2
Monrovia Santa Fe Avenue Center
Montebello Gardens School Savannah School
Montebello Park School Scott Center
Monterey Highlands State Preschool Scott FCC 2
Monterey Vista School Scott State Preschool
Montessori Academy of La Puente Sheylyn State Preschool
Montessori Academy of West Covina Shirpser Head Start
Mount St. Mary’s University DCD Shively
Mulberry State Preschool Silva Head Start
Mulhall Head Start Soto Street Head Start
New Lexington Head Start South Central LAMP
New River School South Vermont
New Temple St. John
Newton Academy Strathern Park Head Start
Nickerson Gardens Sunkist Head Start
Niemes I & II Head Start Sunol Preschool
North Walnut Head Start Sunshine Head Start
Northam Suva Elementary
Northrup Temple Isaiah Preschool
Norwalk CDC Tina and Rick Caruso Early Education Center
Olive Tree Learning Academy Trinity
Orange Grove Center UCLA Early Head Start Program
Orchard Dale State Preschool UCLA Lab School
Overland Head Start Un Mundo de Amigos Preschool
Ozzie Goren United
Pacoima Head Start Valleydale
Paddison School Van Wig Head Start
Palms School Vernon
Paramount State Preschool Villa Park Center
Park Place Head Start Villcorta
Park State Preschool Villacorta State Preschool
Perlita Head Start Village Learning Center
Pico Gardens CDC Vista Nueva Learning Center
Pico Rivera Center W.M. Keck Foundation (Pico-Union) Early
Pierce Head Start Education Center
Pio Pico Walnut Park Center
Plainview Head Start Washington
Play and Learn Preschool Washington Elementary
Pomona Washington Preschool

UCLA Mobile Eye Clinic | 2017-18 Annual Report | 15

 The Power of
Passion

Volunteers, interns, sponsors, and donors are an integral component of the UCLA Mobile Eye
Clinic. UMEC is dedicated to furthering a passion for public service and vision care
accessibility. Thank you to all the dedicated volunteers, health care professionals, and donors
who have devoted their time and resources to serving the community.

This year, over 50 volunteers have donated over 2,000 hours.

“UMEC has given me the

opportunity to learn from
the amazing staff, help
children obtain free vision
care, and reaffirm my
passion for optometry”

– Allison, UMEC Volunteer

16 | UCLA Mobile Eye Clinic | 2017-18 Annual Report

 “I really enjoy UMEC because it helped me realize
the importance of vision care and education, and how

Passion
vision care can really affect a person’s quality to life
either positively if treated early or negatively”
– Angela, UMEC Volunteer

Our Sponsors

To learn about how you can get involved with the UCLA Mobile Eye Clinic in our mis-
sion to provide accessible vision care to underserved communities, please visit:

https://uclahealth.org/mobile-eye-clinic/support-us

UCLA Mobile Eye Clinic | 2017-18 Annual Report | 17