Skip main navigation

Military Health System

Clear Your Cache

Health.mil has undergone a recent update. For the best user experience we recommend clearing your browser cache.

Vision Care Service Coordinators Support Ocular Care Management

Image of Military health personnel giving an eye appointment. Air Force Maj. Brett Ringger, an optometrist from the Texas Air National Guard’s 136th Airlift Wing, tests a patient’s vision at a health-care clinic being operated by the Air National Guard and U.S. Navy Reserve at Lee County High School in Beattyville, Ky., June 23, 2018 (Air National Guard photo by Lt. Col. Dale Greer).

Eye injuries that impact readiness come in all shapes and sizes - from minor shrapnel injuries, to getting hit with an object, to toxic chemicals splashed into the eyes.

The Defense Health Agency's Vision Center of Excellence vision care service coordinator team interacts with more than 11,000 serious eye or ocular injuries in service members each year, on average. These injuries are due to occupational, training, and conflict events.

Vision care service coordinators are located at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland; Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas; and the Naval Medical Center in San Diego, California.

Each of these military hospitals has a full complement of ophthalmological subspecialists, such as retina, cornea, and ocular plastic surgery specialists, according to Helen White, a VCE branch chief. Additionally, those hospitals all have identical capabilities, and each has an assigned vision care service coordinator, she said.

The vision care service coordinators also work with military hospitals and clinics across the United States and overseas to assist with ocular care management needs.

In addition to service member care coordination support services for those with vision-threatening conditions such as ocular trauma and other vision loss injuries, the staff provides support for other beneficiaries with high-risk conditions, such as retinopathy of prematurity. This condition affects the development of the retina in babies born before 31 weeks with low birth weights, and requires frequent follow-up and specialized treatment to assure the best visual outcomes, White said

"Vision care service coordinators understand the unique needs of patients with complex eye injuries and vison dysfunctions and are dedicated to ensuring that they get the specialized care they need to aid and facilitate the patient's optimum vision outcome," said White. This includes collaboration and coordination between the Military Health System and the Department of Veterans Affairs, she added.

Military health personnel giving an eye appointment
Air National Guard Optometrist, Capt. Jill Holler, assigned to the Ohio National Guard’s 180th Fighter Wing, conducts a vision screening for Master Sgt. Christopher Ice, a health systems specialist also assigned to the 180FW (Air National Guard Photo by Senior Master Sgt. Beth Holliker).

The vision care service coordinator reaches out and offers ocular care management support to care managers assigned to patients with ocular injuries and conditions treated at military hospitals. And they work with VA liaisons at military hospitals to facilitate the transfer of eligible service members to Department of Veterans Affairs services, such as the VA low-vision telemedicine program or the Blindness Rehabilitation Service, White said.

Vision care service coordinators support the service member and their family to understand that there is life after eye injury, she added.

They work with the VCE's blind rehabilitation staff to develop tools and resources to better assist military hospital staff that support service members, White explained.

She noted, "On the outpatient level, the service members may have limited access to or information on low-vision equipment and support services. The clinic staff may also have a limited list of resources in geographical areas." Vision care service coordinators are well-versed in these special needs and have access to local and regional resources.

VCE is tasked with implementing and managing a registry of information to track diagnoses, interventions and treatments, and follow up for each case of significant eye injury sustained by a member of the armed forces while serving on active duty. The Defense & Veterans Eye Injury Vision Registry, or DVEIVR, was developed to address this requirement. Vision care service coordinators have access to patients enrolled in the DVEIVR so they can assist in helping identify their ocular care coordination needs.

Dr. David Eliason, an ophthalmologist and deputy division chief for VCE, explained how the hope for the future is how the registry will be used more for coordinating patient care.

"A potential point is that the registry could assist clinicians and caregivers in military treatment facilities in early identification of the ocular care coordination needs between the MTFs and VA for our service members," he said.

"The collaborative and cohesive working environment of DOD and VA staff facilitates the mission of VCE and strengthens our relationship with VA in support of our service members and veterans. Our VA partnership enhances our ability to serve the service member from injury through rehabilitation in support of optimizing the patient's vision outcomes," Eliason said.

You also may be interested in...

Article
Aug 2, 2023

55th Dental Squadron Participates in Operation Healthy Delta

U.S. Air Force Capt. Bethanie Swanson, a dentist, and U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Omalee Vega, the noncommissioned officer in charge, both assigned to the 55th Medical Group in Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, conduct a dental examination during Operation Healthy Delta Innovative Readiness training program in Anna, Illinois, on June 11, 2023.  (Photo: U.S. Air National Guard Airman 1st Class Danielle Dawson)

More than 270 service members from the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Space Force, U.S. Army and U.S. Air National Guard, Army and Air Force Reserve, U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, U.S. Navy Reserve, and the U.S Public Health Service collaborated to provide no-cost health services to underserved communities in Illinois and Missouri.

Article
Jul 25, 2023

Defense Public Health Experts Investigate If Minority Group Service Members are More Likely to Experience Behavioral Health Problems

A recent Department of Defense study found American Indian and Alaska Native U.S. Army Soldiers had higher rates of suicidal ideation than white soldiers. The DOD is investigating behavioral health disparities among minority groups in the military to see how they might mirror similar disparities in the civilian population. (Graphic illustration: Steven Basso, Defense Centers for Public Health-Aberdeen)

U.S. public health agencies such as the National Institute of Mental Health have recognized that certain minority groups appear to experience greater risk for certain behavioral health disorders. The higher rates of adverse health problems in minority groups are often referred to as “disparities.”

Article
Jun 28, 2023

88th Operational Medical Readiness Squadron Focused on ‘Fit to Fight’ Force

Brenda Couch watches over U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Ron Sparkman, a student at the 155th medical group with the Nebraska National Guard, as he checks vitals on an airman during training at Wright-Patterson Medical Center on June 13. Operational Medical Readiness Squadron was this month’s pick for “Dominate the Dirty Work,” a series of stories offering an in depth look at the hard working and dedicated individuals that often go unseen. (Photo: Kenneth J. Stiles, U.S. Air Force)

The 88th Operational Medical Readiness Squadron provides direct support to U.S. Air Force operations by promoting and sustaining force health, preventing injury and illness, restoring health, and elevating human performance. Its top priority is ensuring airmen and military members are medically ready to execute their missions at home-base and deployed ...

Article
Jun 16, 2023

Navy and Marine Corps Public Health Center Changes Name

The Navy and Marine Corps Public Health Center changed its name in accordance with section 711 of John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for FY19 to the Navy and Marine Corps Force Health Protection Command, effective January 1, emphasizing its operational mission focus. (Courtesy Graphic)

The Navy and Marine Corps Force Health Protection Command develops and shapes public health for the U.S. Navy and Marines Corps through health surveillance, disease and injury prevention, and public health consultation. There will be no changes to the availability of public health services, tools and resources.

Article
May 30, 2023

Navy Expeditionary Medical Unit Rotations Provide Ongoing Support in the Middle East

U.S. Navy Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Freeman Morrison, a biomedical technician, left, and U.S. Navy Lt. j. g. Andrew Mappus, an emergency room nurse, right, assigned to Navy Expeditionary Medical Unit 10- Gulf, Rotation 13, are monitoring an U.S. Army Medic Task Force Buckeye, 37th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, as he draws blood from an soldier on Dec. 20. (Photo by U.S. Navy Capt. Jerrol Walla)

The 30-member team conducted enhanced shore-based activities at Erbil Air Base in Iraq, where they provided life, limb, and eyesight-saving care to the U.S. armed forces, Department of Defense, civilian contractors, and multi-national coalition forces. They also provided critical support to facilities in the Eastern Syria Security Area.

Article
May 10, 2023

Imaging Specialists Look Beyond the Skin

U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Leila Liza Smith, a diagnostic imaging specialist with the 6th Medical Group, practices abdominal ultrasound procedures at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, on ct. 25, 2022. Smith evaluates the images produced by the ultrasound for abnormalities, such as lumps or nodules on the thyroid gland. (Photo by U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Lauren Cobin)

Diagnostic imaging specialists are medical professionals that use imaging equipment and soundwaves to form images of many parts of the body, known as ultrasounds. They are trained to acquire and analyze these sonographic images so that doctors can diagnose and treat many medical conditions.

Article
Apr 11, 2023

Navy Entomology Center of Excellence Arms the Department of Defense’s Experts in the Fight for Public Health

U.S. Air Force Capt. Deanna Scheff (left) receiving pesticide application training from U.S. Air Force Ensign Benfry DeJesus (right) during the largest inter-agency pesticide certification course delivered in nearly five years on Naval Air Station Jacksonville. (Photo by U.S. Navy Lt. Nicholas Johnston)

Navy Entomology Center of Excellence staff trained and equipped active duty preventive medicine and civilian pest control personnel representing U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force, and U.S. Army during the largest inter-agency pesticide certification course delivered in nearly five years on Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Florida, Jan. 23.

Skip subpage navigation
Refine your search
Last Updated: March 06, 2025
Follow us on Instagram Follow us on LinkedIn Follow us on Facebook Follow us on X Follow us on YouTube Subscribe to updates from the MHS