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.