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March 2024 Newsletter From ISPB & PBIL



Workplace Eye Wellness Month

ISPB and Prevent Blindness Illinois (PBIL) have declared March as Workplace Eye Wellness Month to encourage employers and employees to make eye safety and eye protection a priority on the job. We offer a variety of free resources including WORKPLACE EYE SAFETY FACT SHEETSSHAREABLE SOCIAL MEDIA GRAPHICS, and, to help employers educate workers on eye protection and safety, Prevent Blindness also offers the Workplace Safety module in the HEALTHY EYES EDUCATIONAL SERIES. 

According to a recent report from the U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS, workers suffered 18,510 eye-related injuries and illnesses in 2020. Contact with objects or equipment led to the majority of eye injuries and illnesses requiring days away from work in 2020. Of these cases, close to 60 percent resulted from the worker rubbing or being abraded by foreign matter in the eye. Another 35 percent resulted from the eye being struck by an object or equipment. The AMERICAN ACADEMY OF OPHTHALMOLOGY recommends eye safety gear that protects eyes from hazards such as:

  • Flying shards of metal or glass
  • Tools that slip or malfunction
  • Particles such as wood splinters, metal shavings or crystalline silica
  • Spattered chemicals
  • Any combination of these or other hazards

For more information visit HERE


Community Happenings

Our staff, team of interns, and volunteers provide eye health education and outreach at all types of community events – including health fairs, presentations and screenings!

We will be continuing our efforts during these dates:

March 06, 2024
3:30pm – Bridle Brook Assisted Living: Mahomet, IL

March 10, 2024
2:00pm – Prairie Winds of Urbana: Urbana, IL

March 17, 2024
1:00pm – Pop Up Farmer’s Market: Chicago, IL

March 19, 2024
2:00pm – Evergreen Place: Champaign, IL

March 25, 2024
1:00pm – Waukegan Township Presentation: Waukegan, IL

April 04, 2024
1:30pm – Carriage Crossing Senior Living: Champaign, IL

April 09, 2024
1:30pm – Skokie Low Vision Support Group Presentation: Skokie, IL

April 30, 2024
1:00pm – Centennial Activity Center Presentation: Park Ridge, IL

For more information, please contact rbarraza@preventblindness.org


The Illinois Society for the Prevention of Blindness (ISPB) offers unique grant opportunities supporting mentored pre-clinical or clinical research programs designed to foster junior investigator development while advancing clinical care in ophthalmology and optometry

The primary mission of ISPB is to reduce preventable causes of blindness by educating the public on the necessity for and the methods of preventing blindness. ISPB annually awards grants to support research in eye and vision health, with priority granted to areas of inquiry with direct clinical relevance (translation research). Please keep this in mind when filling out your application.

Grant applications are due by Wednesday, May 8, 2024 at midnight. Reviews will take place in June, 2024.
For more information visit HERE


Total Eclipse is April 8, 2024

The next total solar eclipse in North America will occur across most of the United States on April 8, 2024, including a small band of total solar eclipse stretching from southwest to northeast across much of the continent. Prevent Blindness hopes you enjoy taking part in this important astronomical and cultural event. Before you do, please take the time to learn about the dangers to your vision and how to protect your eyes from injury during the eclipse.

 To learn more visit HERE


Copyright © 2017 Illinois Society for the Prevention of Blindness

Contact Us
Illinois Society for the Prevention of Blindness | https://eyehealthillinois.org/
Prevent Blindness Illinois https://preventblindness.org/contact-us/




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