Rock Island, Ill. – The Lions Clubs of District 1-H (includes 13 counties in west central Illinois) host their District Convention on Saturday, April 14, 2018, at the Holiday Inn Hotel & Conference Center, 227 17th Street, Rock Island.
In conjunction with the convention, the Lions Clubs offer free health screening services to the public on April 14 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Holiday Inn Hotel & Conference Center, 227 17th Street, Rock Island. Screenings offered are Retinopathy Screening and Hearing Screening Unit, and Plusoptix screening for children.
The Plusoptix camera can detect eye problems in children as young as 6 months and the results of the screening are available immediately. The results of the scan are presented to the child’s guardian in a “pass/fail” format. If the results are in the “fail” arena, the results of the scan will be printed out so that the guardian may take the child’s information to a pediatric eye doctor for professional assessment. The vision screening takes less than 1 minute to complete.
The Retinopathy Screening Unit is equipped with a state of the art camera (much the same as you would find in any well-equipped eye clinic), which captures a digital image of the back of the eye. That image will allow a qualified technician to screen individuals for retinopathy, more specifically for “diabetic retinopathy”, which is (or should be) a major concern for people with diabetes. One of the greatest concerns of the Lions organization is that there are so many people who have diabetes and don’t know it. One of the missions of the Lions is to “eradicate preventable blindness” and this simple, painless, FREE exam is part of that effort. The images are read by qualified technicians, and the results are mailed directly to the individual.
The Hearing Screening Unit is equipped with the same type of equipment that will be found in most audiologist office, a sound proof booth (actually four of them), a set of headphones, and a signaling device to record your results. The results of the hearing test are printed out and given to each individual as he/she exits the mobile unit.
The purpose of the convention allows Lions Club members from throughout the District, or from anywhere for that matter, to come together, learn a few new things, share a few things, and hopefully find themselves a little more passionate about our mission, and better equipped to serve the needs of the sight and hearing impaired in our community. With an expected attendance of 150, the Quad Cities Convention & Visitors Bureau is pleased to welcome this group and the local economic impact is almost $30,000 for the one-day convention.
One of the most interesting features of this year’s gathering will be the opportunity to interact first hand with a young man who recently received a pair of E-sight glasses. The glasses allow him to see thing that he has never seen before. With his vision being corrected from his normal 20/220 (legally blind) to 20/40 he is now able to participate in activities which a few short months ago were simply out of reach. And by his own account, one of the most exciting things is that now he’ll be able to apply for a wide range of jobs
