Grants Corner: Life In Sight
There are a lot of wonderful things about getting older. Wisdom and the ability to see things differently are two such joys. However, for those with low vision or macular degeneration—a chronic condition that is the leading cause of blindness in people aged 60 and over—the inability to see well can challenge even the most
Zen person.
MJHS, long a pioneer in comprehensive care, recently acquired more than 15 new electronic magnification machines through the New York State Commission of the Blind and Visually Handicapped (CBVH), in addition to a company called HumanWare. Now, many Adult Day Health Care participants, as well as Menorah and Shorefront Centers for Rehabilitation and Nursing Care residents, have returned to a favorite pastime…reading.
Magnified Words
Approximately 15 percent of MJHS residents and adult day health care participants suffer from visual impairment. For many of these people, skipping everyday tasks, such as reading mail or prescription labels, can have dire consequences.
“Some clients completely give up on reading or decide to ignore bills…even Social Security checks. Others bring in their mail and ask us to read it, but we understand how demoralizing that can be,” Daniel Gaskin said. As recreational manager of the Adult Day Health Center on 16th Street in Brooklyn, Gaskin often has to find creative ways to keep his clients engaged. “The magnification machines have changed everything. Each user feels so much more empowered and independent,” Gaskin added.
Audio Leads to Visual
Rich Sundermier, the Low Vision Sales Manager of Humanware, has a key role in this story. Earlier this year, he heard an MJHS radio commercial and thought that the health system would benefit from the machines.
Even better, he was sure MJHS was eligible to receive them free of charge. Why? Because CBVH, a federally funded agency that provides rehabilitation services to legally blind New York residents, purchased 500 electronic magnification machines from HumanWare—a company dedicated to manufacturing specialized devices for the visually impaired. Using funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, CBVH installed the machines at MJHS facilities.
Joyce Little, Director of the Adult Day Health Care program on the Menorah campus was thrilled with the efficient process, from the application form to the actual delivery.
Each machine has a 22-inch standmounted video camera that projects a magnified image of the printed material onto a monitor screen. Zooming in and out is as easy as 1-2-3. One of the most popular features is the reverse contrast option—white letters on a black background or black letters on a white background. But users are getting creative. The machines are being used for many than reading newspapers or books.
Gaskin described one client who missed jewelry-making. “She used to use a magnifying glass, but that was cumbersome. It stifled her creativity. Now, she uses the reader to make true gems.”
Current Foundation in Focus
Volume 12 No. 4, Winter 2011
