Vision Care is Essential for Growing Children

 

Studies have shown that a lack of vision care can have harmful effects on a child’s growth. According to recent surveys, over half of all parents overlook their child’s eye health, which can impede their learning and increase their risk of developing diseases.

Eye exams are especially important for growing children. A child’s intellectual development is deeply connected to their senses, as over 70% of learning happens through sight. That means anything that interferes with a child’s concentration can affect their ability to learn. Vision problems affect 25% of all school age children – that’s a big fraction of kids who are learning at a disadvantage, especially if their needs haven’t yet been discovered. This can have a serious impact on academic performance, leading to further issues down the line.

Eye exams do much more for a child’s health than just check for vision issues, however. A comprehensive eye exam can now detect over 250 diseases throughout the body, making them crucial for maintaining one’s quality of life. That’s because the body is interconnected in ways that allow eye exams to discover conditions such as cancer, diabetes, and multiple sclerosis. While we often associate these diseases with adulthood and advanced age, these same symptoms can also be found in younger patients.

Studies say that over 60% of parents do not take their kids for routine eye exams – that means their vision could be declining for months before anyone realizes. This statistic is especially alarming since studies say that 60% of kids with learning disabilities have an undetected vision impairment. Some vision issues, called “functional vision problems”, aren’t even related to how clear one’s eyesight is, meaning that it’s possible for a child to have trouble focusing on their work without any obvious signs. In cases like these only an eye exam will be able to uncover the problem.

GVS prioritizes connecting families to the eye care they need. Our vision plan options can cover your entire immediate family, so you can conveniently and affordably stay on top of your child’s vision needs and development.

GHS: Cutting Costs and Offering More

May 23, 2016
By Peter Murdoch 

New York, NY – Hearing loss is no longer just your grandfather’s problem. Studies indicate that over the next 10 to 15 years, nearly one-third of the general population will actually be hearing impaired. Already, those below retirement age represent the majority of people suffering at least some degree of hearing loss. And that includes both men and women alike.

Ubiquitous electronic devices designed for entertainment — everything from iPods to home theaters with surround sound — are partly to blame, exposing kids to ever more harmful noises at much earlier ages. The damage is cumulative so that by the time we reach our 40s, our eyesight isn’t the only sense that begins to falter.

Working — and even just living in the big city — only makes matters worse.  Not surprisingly, members of noisy construction trades are particularly vulnerable to hearing loss. One recent study finds that a 20-year-old carpenter entering the industry who fails to avail him- or herself to proper noise protection gear, risks profound damage to his or her hearing. Left unprotected, that same 20-year-old apprentice carpenter could wind up with the hearing of a 55-year-old veteran after just five years on the job.

Hearing aids are better than they’ve ever been — but carry hefty price tags. The average cost of a digital processing device with noise-canceling properties is about $2500. And the collective lifespans of these miraculous devices is finite — about five to six years. Most union benefit plans roughly offering $500 allowances every couple of years, really aren’t effective ways of offsetting the out-of-pocket cost for a member.

GHS — General Hearing Services, a division of General Vision Services — is taking a different approach. By utilizing the EPIC network of some 6,000 providers nationwide, the company is able to offer members significant discounts (up to 60 percent) on cutting-edge hearing devices. Together, with greater allowances occurring less often, GHS is offering the New York labor market a new product model capable of greatly relieving hearing aid sticker shock — and in some cases, even providing members with a “paid-in-full benefit.”

“Generally, when somebody doesn’t have access to a network, providers are trying to up-sell the clients to the most expensive products — so that whatever benefits are being provided through the funds, really aren’t able to minimize their out of pocket expense,” Sales & Marketing Director Mike Reha says.

GHS even offers members a three-year-warranty on hearing devices, as well as a one-year supply of batteries.Your good hearing is vulnerable like never before.

One union official explains his group’s experience with GHS this way: “The hearing program is valuable since our membership is exposed to loud noises on the streets each day. We promote the hearing

program to encourage our members to get their ears checked regularly in the event of hearing loss. We made a smart decision recently to implement this program with GHS to educate and promote this service onto our membership.  Healthy members are productive, happy members.”

GHS wants members to think about hearing the same way they do about their eyesight and their teeth. Both demand constant vigilance and attention — and so should our hearing.

“The reason you do this is to prevent further issues down the road,” GHS’ Tony Rosario explains. “We’re creating more awareness so that more people don’t become early candidates for hearing loss.

Together with GVS — General Vision Services — GHS is the only company now out there combining vision and health benefits is a single holistic plan that stresses health & well-being, in addition to comprehensive cost savings.

The approach, Rosario says, is a “no-brainer” that more unions are eagerly embracing.

Click here for more information about GHS’ health & wellness program.

 

View this article at laborpress.org