Message from the President
Dear Friends,
Throughout our 103-year history, Lighthouse International has sought to raise awareness of the issues surrounding vision impairment. Recent events, including the appointment of David Paterson as Governor of New York State and the opening of our new Diabetes Center, have provided unique opportunities for us to alert the public about some of these issues.
The swearing in of the new Governor is a milestone for people everywhere who are visually impaired. Governor Paterson is the first person who is legally blind to have assumed this prominent position. As a child, he lost all of the sight in his left eye and much of the sight in his right. However, he has overcome obstacles, sending an important message that people with vision loss can achieve whatever goals they set for themselves, including ascension to the Governor's mansion.
On the day of his inauguration, Lighthouse staff gathered to watch and listen to Governor Paterson's inspirational speech. What a triumphant moment that was for all of us - and for all those we serve. Having someone who is legally blind in such a high-visibility position will certainly increase the public's understanding of what it means to live with vision loss. In fact, we were joined that day by members of the press and garnered extensive coverage in such major media outlets as The New York Times, The CBS Early Show, New York One News, WNBC TV News, WCBS TV News and WOR Radio News.
Governor Paterson serves as a powerful role model for so many people living with vision loss and, as one of our staff members who is visually impaired said, "He will make a statement about what people with vision loss CAN do!" Just as important, his appointment shines a spotlight on vision loss at a critical time: 161 million people worldwide are visually impaired today; without intervention, this number could double by 2020.
In the US, there will be 20 million Americans age 45 and over who self-report vision loss in less than two years. One reason why this statistic is so high is the growing incidence of obesity and the risk it poses for developing diabetes, which is the leading cause of new cases of legal blindness among people ages 20-74. As the number of Americans with diabetes continues to skyrocket, rates of diabetic retinopathy are rising in tandem.
Over 700,000 people in New York and over 21 million in the nation are living with diabetes - and many of them do not even know they have the disease. Without proper treatment, their chances of losing vision increase greatly.
Recently, Lighthouse International took a giant step toward addressing the epidemics of diabetes and vision loss by launching a Diabetes Center to help New Yorkers facing both problems be proactive in their approach to managing the disease. The Center provides education and comprehensive care, including nutritional counseling, podiatry, low vision exams and other vision rehabilitation services.
We introduced this exciting new program on March 25, the 20th Annual Diabetes Alert Day, for which we teamed with the American Diabetes Association to offer free vision, diabetes as well as cholesterol and hypertension screenings to over 300 people. A number of them had results that required follow-up visits with their doctors. And for those facing the disabling consequences of diabetes-related vision loss, they now have a resource here at the Lighthouse they can turn to for the care they need.
We - and those we serve - have you to thank for helping to make new programs like our Diabetes Center possible. Your continued generosity as a visionary leader fuels all of our activities.
Sincerely,
Tara A. Cortes, PhD, RN