Funding Vision Screenings on Mobile Units in the USA

1. Funding Vision Screenings on Mobile Units in the USA The Friends of the Congressional Glaucoma Caucus Foundation

2. What is the FCGCF? • Bi-partisan Congressional Glaucoma Caucus; • Originally founded by five MOC; • Now composed of more than 80 Members of Congress; • Foundation has been conducting screenings since April, 2001.

3. Serve People In Need

4. Why Is Screening Vital? • Glaucoma is irreversible; • It has no symptoms; • But the disease can be slowed or even checked if found early enough; hence • Screenings save sight… • And money!

5. Who Funds the FCGCF? • Upjohns/Pharmacia/Pfizer made initial grants totaling $1,000,000; • Centers for Disease Control now funds at $3.5 million per year; • City of Washington, DC; • Office of Minority Health; and • Allergan Corporation.

6. FCGCF Results • 113,584 individuals screened; • 5,034 screenings in 36 states; • Mobile Units have assisted at 700+ screenings since 2002; • 15,727 glaucoma suspects; • 17,519 with other vision issues; • Average age: 51.

7. National Reach of FCGCF

8. Texas as an Example • UTHSCSA, a State University with Medical School in a Major City; • San Antonio Regional Health Department; • And Five Community Health Centers: • Community Health Development, Uvalde; • Gateway Community Health, Laredo; • South Texas Rural Health, Cotulla; • United Medical Center, Eagle Pass; • Vida y Salud, Crystal City.

9. Funding Facts of Life • Governments (at all levels) are the second leading funding group; • What YOU do for the public good, governments don’t need to do; • Getting the ear of a local official is not difficult; • They need you to help them look good and get re-elected.

10. Rules of Public Relations • Do some good work; • Evaluate your work carefully; • Tell the world about your good work; • Tell the people who matter to you; • Tell the people who matter to you that you also have the ear of people who matter to them; • Make LOTS OF NOISE!

11. Who Matters? • Luis Gutierrez, MOC from Illinois; • Member, Hispanic Conference; • Proponent of health care issues; • He needs voters; • He has eyes.

12. Who Will Matter Soon? • Jesse Jackson, Jr., Chicago, IL; • Danny Davis, Chicago, IL; • Ed Pastor, Phoenix, AZ; • Artur Davis, Birmingham, AL; • Elijah Cummings, Baltimore, MD; • Bennie Thompson, Jackson, MS; • David Price, Raleigh-Durham, NC; • Their constituents and the people in your home communities.

13. Is It Cost Effective? • The glaucoma burden is expected to grow; • By 2020 the number of the blind will increase 70% to 1,600,000; • Blindness costs society billions; • And individuals who lose sight also lose dignity, independence, and self-esteem.

14. Some Relevant Facts • A person going blind at age 45 costs society about $1,000,000; • It now costs less than $625 per year to treat glaucoma; • Over 30 years, the total cost of stopping glaucoma in a 45-year-old would be less than $19,000; • Savings to society = $981,000 per individual.

15. A Persuasive Argument • Savings to society = $981,000 per individual; • FCGCF studies show 1 in 10 glaucoma “suspects” has true glaucoma; • 15,727 divided by 10 = 1,572; • At least half are >50; • 786 x $981,000 = $771,066,000; • Equal to funding the FCGCF until the year 2160 at $5,000,000 per year.

16. Advertising Your Solution

17. Helping Your Friends

18. Will This Work for You? “Your shooting percentage is zero on shots you don’t take.” – John Starks