Enhancing Life for the Visually Impaired
BlindSight Delaware is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the quality of life for blind and visually impaired adults and children in Delaware. We proudly provide services in New Castle, Kent and Sussex Counties to those who are:
- Totally Blind (no light perception)
- Legally Blind (20/200)
- Severely Visually Impaired (20/70 to 20/200)
- Legally Blind: 20/200 in the better eye with correction
- Low Vision (uncorrectable vision loss)
- Families and friends of those living with visual impairment
Americans are living longer than ever. That’s good news, but as people get older, they’re more likely to develop age-related eye diseases that cause vision loss, such as macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy. In fact, 7.3 million American adults, with 20,000 in Delaware alone, who are 65 years and older report having vision loss, according to the 2016 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). That number will increase significantly in the coming decades, especially as nearly 75 million Americans who make up the Baby Boomer generation get older.
News-to-Use:
Thank You Jim! Jim Law retired from BlindSight’s board of directors after 10 years of service. Ken, our chair of the board, and Alan, our treasurer, presented him with a wonderful plaque.
RetireGuide.com has created an easy-to-understand, comprehensive guide to understand medicare: retireguide.com/medicare – Many people with disabilities are eligible or already enrolled in medicare, however we realize how difficult it can be to understand.
Emergency and Disaster Response: ADA Lessons Learned is a compilation of best practices and ADA legal requirements for effective emergency and disaster response activities to people with disabilities. Read more about ADA Emergency and Disaster Response
NWADA Guidance Sheet on Accessible Drive-Thru Medical Sites addresses the accessibility of drive-thru medical sites which have become increasingly utilized in response to the current COVID-19 pandemic. Read more about NWADA Guidance
American Foundation for the Blind’s Coronavirus (COVID-19) Resources, visit www.afb.org
The Talking Banknote Identifier: This device reads currency for you. All you need to do is hold the unit in the palm of your hand and insert the currency into the slot and press and release. If interested, please contact Patti Addison or Terry Marsh for further details.
iPhone Users: Have you heard about Clew? Clew is an indoor, path tracing navigation app built for blind and visually impaired users. It is designed to remember a location like a seat or a room and assist you to return to that destination after exploring your surrounding environment. For even more information about Clew, visit www.clewapp.org
October is Medication Label Safety Awareness Month
During Medication Label Safety Awareness Month, remind your family, friends, coworkers and clients about safe medication practices and accessible label options.
Here are some conversation starters:
- Talk to your pharmacy about what accessible prescription label options they provide. Do they offer large print, Braille, audible or dual language?
- Create a list of all the prescriptions, over the counter medications and vitamins that you are taking and make sure all your doctors, pharmacists and patient portals are up to date. If you use the ScripTalk Mobile app you can start with what is listed in the MyMeds section which records your Full Scan history (quick scans are not recorded).
- If you are not really sure what a medication is for, ask your doctor or pharmacist to explain. Knowledge is power!
- Go through your medications and get rid of anything that is expired or you no longer take. Saturday, October 24th is the next National Drug Take Back Day
- Lock up opioids or addictive medications to prevent theft or misuse.
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