Project Grant CE146478

COMMUNITY PROJECT FUNDING/CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING - CONSTRUCTION - ADDRESS: 2102 E. 8TH AVENUE, TAMPA, FL 33605 PROJECT DIRECTOR NAME: JASON K. WOODY, PRESIDENT AND CEO CONTACT PHONE NUMBERS: 813-289-1200 EMAIL ADDRESS: FOUNDATION@LIONSEYEINSTITUTE.ORG WEBSITE ADDRESS: LIONSEYEINSTITUTE.ORG LIONS EYE INSTITUTE FOR TRANSPLANT AND RESEARCH BELIEVES THAT EVERYONE, PARTICULARLY OUR CHILDREN, DESERVES THE GIFT OF SIGHT. TO THIS END, LIONS EYE INSTITUTE HAS SET NEW STANDARDS IN EYE BANKING, TISSUE RECOVERY, AND OCULAR RESEARCH, WHICH HAVE TRANSFORMED AND IMPROVED THE LIVES OF PATIENTS, WHILE HONORING TISSUE DONORS AND THEIR FAMILIES, AND PROVIDED ENHANCED SERVICES FOR SURGEON PARTNERS. OVER 160,000 INDIVIDUALS HAVE HAD THEIR SIGHT RESTORED SINCE THE NONPROFIT'S INCEPTION IN 1973, IN OUR COMMUNITY, THROUGHOUT FLORIDA, ACROSS THE UNITED STATES, AND IN OVER 50 COUNTRIES AROUND THE WORLD. TODAY, AS CHILDREN ENTER THE EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT PHASE OF THEIR LIVES, THEY ARE FACING A SILENT EPIDEMIC OF UNDIAGNOSED AND UNTREATED VISION DISORDERS WHICH ULTIMATELY ROBS THEM OF THEIR ABILITY TO REALIZE THEIR FULL POTENTIAL IN THE CLASSROOM AND IN LIFE. TO ADDRESS THIS SILENT EPIDEMIC, LIONS EYE INSTITUTE WILL DEVELOP THE VISION HEALTH CENTER (VHC). THE VHC WILL BE A STATE-OF-THE-ART FACILITY LOCATED AT 2102 E. 8TH AVENUE, TAMPA, FL 33605. WE ARE CURRENTLY IN DISCUSSIONS TO PURCHASE THIS PROPERTY WITH THE INTENT TO BUILD THE VISION HEALTH CENTER THERE. THIS PROPERTY IS ONLY A FEW BLOCKS FROM OUR CURRENT CAMPUS. THESE FUNDS WILL NOT BE USED FOR THE PURCHASE OF THIS PROPERTY. A KEY PART OF THE VHC WILL BE THE PEDIATRIC VISION PROGRAMS, WHICH ARE THE FOCUS OF THIS CONSTRUCTION PROJECT. THE PEDIATRIC VISION UNIT (PVU) WILL PROVIDE A COMPREHENSIVE VISION PROGRAM FOR OUR CHILDREN WHO ARE LACKING ACCESS TO SUCH AN ESSENTIAL PROGRAM TODAY. THE PVU WILL PROVIDE A UNIQUE MODEL OF VISION SCREENINGS, COMPREHENSIVE EYE EXAMS, AND CLINICAL SERVICES TO FULLY SUPPORT THE VISION NEEDS OF OUR CHILDREN AND TO ERADICATE THE SILENT EPIDEMIC OF UND IAGNOSED/UNTREATED EYE DISEASE CONFRONTING THEM TODAY. THIS CENTER WILL PROVIDE STUDENTS WITH THE OPPORTUNITY TO FULLY ENGAGE IN THEIR EDUCATION AND OVERALL QUALITY OF LIFE, UNHINDERED BY DEBILITATING VISION DISORDERS. TO HAVE A PROFOUND AND LASTING IMPACT, A VISION SCREENING NEEDS TO BE PAIRED WITH A COMPREHENSIVE EYE EXAMINATION. UNDERLYING OCULAR DISORDERS MUST BE RULED OUT AND CLINICAL TREATMENTS NEED TO BE PRESCRIBED AND MONITORED. PROVIDING GLASSES IS BUT ONE PIECE OF THE PUZZLE WHICH MUST BE COMPLEMENTED CLINICALLY TO MEET THE ESSENTIAL OPTICAL NEEDS OF OUR CHILDREN. THE PVU WILL PIONEER INNOVATIVE CLINICAL PROGRAMS THAT WILL FOREVER CHANGE THE WAY WE FIGHT THIS VISION LOSS EPIDEMIC. IT WILL ALSO SERVE AS A PREMIER VISION EDUCATION RESOURCE FOR PATIENTS, EDUCATORS, RESEARCHERS, AND PARENTS. THIS COMPREHENSIVE PROGRAM WILL ATTRACT MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS FROM AROUND THE WORLD TO COLLABORATE ON RESEARCH AND SERVICES. LOCALLY, WE WILL ENGAGE BOTH THE USF HEALTH DEPARTMENT OF OPHTHALMOLOGY AND THE HCC OPTICIANRY PROGRAM WHO WILL BE INTEGRAL TO THIS MISSION WHILE ENGAGING THEIR RESIDENTS, STUDENTS, AND STAFF IN PVU PROGRAMS. THE GOAL OF THE PEDIATRIC VISION UNIT AT THE VISION HEALTH CENTER AT LIONS EYE INSTITUTE IS TO DEVELOP A STATE-OF-THE-ART PROGRAM MODEL THAT CAN BE SUSTAINED AND REPLICATED BY OTHERS AND THAT MOST IMPORTANTLY, WILL SIGNIFICANTLY TRANSFORM THE LIVES OF OUR CHILDREN WHO ARE ADVERSELY IMPACTED BY VISION DISORDERS, AND HELP THEM REACH THEIR FULL POTENTIAL. IT WILL SERVE ANYONE WHO IS FULLY INSURED AS WELL AS PEOPLE WHO ARE UNDERINSURED OR HAVE NO INSURANCE. EVERYONE DESERVES THE GIFT OF SIGHT, REGARDLESS OF THEIR ABILITY TO PAY.