On Tuesday, February 17, 2015, at 9 AM, the UMHS Regional Alliance for Healthy Schools (RAHS) celebrated the culmination of a goal set years ago with a Ribbon Cutting Ceremony presenting the renovated school-based health center and the new Community Eye Clinic located in the Ypsilanti Community High School.
RAHS is thrilled to partner with the Kellogg Eye Center to establish services for our patients and community members,” said Lauren Ranalli, Director of the Regional Alliance for Healthy Schools. “The Community Eye Clinic at RAHS Ypsilanti Community High school-based health center will be a resource for essential vision services for hundreds of students and their families throughout Washtenaw County.”
The RAHS-Kellogg Partnership became a reality due to the need for vision service for many of the RAHS underserved patient population. Because of the generous donation and continuous support of the Kellogg Eye Center, RAHS is now able to provide sustainable onsite services. This partnership will ensure that every patient in need will receive a comprehensive eye visit and will receive a pair of glasses.
“We want to be sure that all students have proper eye care so that they can succeed in the classroom and in their long term career goals,” said Michael Smith-Wheelock, Associate Chair of Clinical Affairs at the U-M Kellogg Eye Center. “Our eye doctors are pleased to help—whether it’s treatment for an eye condition or a new pair of eyeglasses—so that these students have the vision needed to live their lives fully.”
The University of Michigan Kellogg Eye Center provides care for patients with common and complex eye conditions in its seven clinics at the Ann Arbor location and in eight community clinics, including one in Ypsilanti. Clinical care at Kellogg is backed by a strong vision research program aimed at discovering cures and new treatments for eye disease. The goal of faculty and staff is to improve patients’ lives by curing, treating, and preventing eye disease.