Conexus Screens Hundreds of School-Aged Children in Covington   Covington, VA (Feb. 1, 2019) - This school year, Conexus screened 302 school-aged children in Covington, including students at Edgemont Primary, Jeter- Watson Intermediate, and Covington High. Of those screened, 88 were referred; a 29.1% rate. A referral indicates that a potential vision problem was detected, and the child should seek an additional eye exam by an eye care professional of their parent’s or guardian’s choosing. Virginia mandates school-based vision screenings for all new students and those in Kindergarten, Third, Seventh, and Tenth grades and Covington City Public Schools are part of the state funded vision screening pilot program administered by Conexus through the VisioCheck program. Nationally, 25% of school children have a vision problem that impacts their learning, and it is estimated that only 15% of children will see an eye care professional before entering school. 11/6/2018 Covington High School - Screened 56, Referred 21 (37.5%) 11/6/2018 Edgemont Primary School - Screened 184, Referred 50 (27.2%) 11/6/2018 Jeter-Watson Intermediate - Screened 62, Referred 17 (27.4%) ABOUT CONEXUS Conexus, based in Richmond, Virginia, is a private, non-profit 501 (c) 3 organization whose mission is to help every child reach their fullest potential by eliminating undetected and untreated vision problems as barriers to success in school and life. Originally established in 1957 as Prevent Blindness, becoming Conexus in 2014, the agency strives to support an unmet need within the vision community. 80% of what a child learns in school is through vision and 1 in 4 school children have a vision problem significant enough to impact learning. The Essilor Vision Foundation reports that children with uncorrected vision of less than 20/20 are 3 times more likely to fail a grade in school. Undetected and untreated vision problems impact incidences of juvenile delinquency, adult illiteracy, and unreached potential. Conexus views children’s vision screening, when done appropriately, as a single task strategically incorporated as part of a comprehensive program to achieve the broader objective; changing the way the consumer thinks about and takes care of their vision. Conexus believes that a comprehensive program must contain the following well established and distinct components in order to be effective: a trusting and receptive partnership, education; quality best practice screening protocols; certified and credentialed delivery; informative and dynamic method to communicate results for both pass and refer; access to care; proper data collection analysis and follow-up. Visit www.conexusvision.org for more information.

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