Comprehensive Low Vision Program Low Vision Examinations Research Our program offerings for your patients begin with a Low Vision Rehabilitation consultation with a residency-trained Low Vision Optometrist. Through careful communication and evaluation with your Other patients, a rehabilitation Lighthouse plan of care is Programs designed with each person s unique visual goals in mind. Rehabilitation plans of care include prescription of optical aids, recommendations for non-optical aids, and coordination of services to complete the individualized rehabilitation plan. Occupational Therapy As needed, an Occupational Therapist is available to conduct an evaluation, home assessment and training for those who are receiving low vision rehabilitation services from our clinic. Training consists of a discussion and demonstrations of the options available to achieve independence. These options may consist of Low Vision optical and non-optical aids, home adaptations, community resources and support groups. Optical aids consist of magnifiers, telescopes, high-powered spectacles or electronic devices. Non-optical devices include large-print or audio materials, writing and signature guides and much more. Occupational Therapy evaluation, home assessment, training in optical and non-optical aids may be covered at least in part by Medicare, Medicaid, and most private insurance companies. Psychological Support Services Psychological Support Services aspires to meet the socioemotional needs of persons struggling with adapting to low vision and blindness through the employment of evidence-based therapeutic interventions, including individual, group, and family psychotherapy. The program is also aimed at treating and preventing the emotional and behavioral sequale of functional loss through these interventions. Low Vision Mental Health Professionals in this service are ready to bring people with visual impairments into the next, more productive phase of their lives.
Low Vision Referrals Criteria and Referral Guidelines: Comprehensive Low Vision Program The patient s visual Impairment: Must be bilateral and cannot be restored by standard eyeglasses, contact lenses, medicine, or surgery. Research Interferes with the individual s ability to perform one or more desired visual tasks such as reading printed material, seeing street Other signs, recognizing Lighthouse faces, etc. Programs Any person suffering from a loss of vision or visual field in both eyes that reduces or interferes with their daily activities is a candidate for low vision rehabilitation. Referring a Patient to the Low Vision Rehabilitation Service: Email, fax or mail the enclosed Consultation Request Form; with a copy of the most recent eye care exam. We will contact the patient and schedule an appointment. When sending patient consultation requests or summaries, a fax is preferred. Low Vision Rehabilitation Service The Chicago Lighthouse 1850 West Roosevelt Road Chicago, IL 60608-1288
Low Vision Referrals Exams and Devices: Comprehensive Our complete evaluation and rehabilitation Low Vision training takes Program place both in office and in the home and often requires multiple visits. A low vision consultation is usually covered by regular Medicare, Medicaid and most other insurance. Research Patients are responsible for any co-payments and refraction fees. Other Lighthouse Programs The Illinois Division of Rehabilitation Services may pay for exams and assistive devices, especially if such services support employment, job retention or placement. Although a few insurance carriers cover costs of assistive devices most carriers will not. The Chicago Lighthouse does have grant programs available to assist your patients in receiving low vision care and devices, please do not hesitate to refer a patient to us to discuss these programs. No person who is visually impaired is denied services. Disclaimer The Chicago Lighthouse Low Vision Rehabilitation Service is a specialty service. We will not conduct primary eye care exams, treat ocular disease, or duplicate other services that you provide for your patient. We will reinforce to patients their need to return to you for regular follow-up care.
Diagnostic Testing Enhancing the long history of quality care, The Chicago Lighthouse has recently acquired three instruments in the Low Vision Clinic that allow for us to offer you diagnostic services. The Lighthouse s Clinic is known for providing detailed clinical reports on a Low Vision Referrals patient s visual status back to their referring physicians. It is now possible Comprehensive Low Vision Program to enhance this clinical information to include microperimetry with eye tracking capability (more accurate mapping of visual sensitivity, essential for the patient with macular disease), multifocal electroretinography (helpful in identifying whether the causes of vision loss are retinal in Research origin), optical coherence tomography (unveiling the layers of the retina via high resolution spectral domain technology), and Optomap (ultrawide field retinal imaging). These instruments allow for a more complete understanding of a patient s visual function and any underlying structural Other Lighthouse Programs changes that may be related to the patient s vision losses. The results of these tests can be used by you, the referring physicians, to further refine a more precise therapeutic plan for your patients. The instruments that are now part of our low vision services are: Nidek s MP-1 measures the patient s ability or inability to perceive light of varying intensities projected on all areas of the eye. This instrument allows for the detection and monitoring of central and peripheral vision loss, as well as the eye s ability to gaze steadily on a target. It is extremely useful in identifying the preferred retinal locus for a patient with loss of central vision due to macular disease, and for accurately mapping visual loss in these patients to gain a full understanding of a patient s remaining vision. Eccentric viewing training programs can be customized for the patient with unstable fixation. Veris Science Multifocal Electroretinogram (mferg) is a powerful instrument designed to assess the eye s electrical responses to light. The mferg technique measures and maps retinal function by recording electrical responses from the eye in 103 discrete locations, using a corneal contact lens electrode, in just 8 minutes per eye. The results of this test can help identify the origin of a patient s vision loss, including differentiating whether the cause of the loss is cortical or retinal. This is helpful in directing vision therapy for patients with unexplained vision loss. Your patient s data will be evaluated based upon comparison to one of the nation s largest archive of normative data held here at The Chicago
Diagnostic Testing Heidelberg Engineering - Spectralis Optical Coherence Tomography Low (OCT) is a Vision leading edge Referrals OCT device providing never before seen details of the structure of the retina. With this instrument, the retina is scanned 100 times faster than older existing technology, at 40,000 scans per second, which creates extremely high resolution cross sectional images at any retinal location. Using spectral-domain OCT technology, disease (including Age-Related Macular Degeneration) pathogenesis can be better understood by evaluating an in vivo depiction of the retinal layers. Research Optomap Panaramic 200 This scanning laser ophthalmoscope allows us to capture an ultrawide field retinal image, ideal for documenting peripheral retinal pathologies. To Order Diagnostic Tests for Patients Other Lighthouse Programs Please return the enclosed Diagnostic Testing Referral form either by fax: 312-506-0111, email patricia.grant-jordan@chicagolighthouse.org, or by mail. We will call your patient to schedule an appointment. If you require additional request forms, please call 312-447-3233. Comprehensive Low Vision Program
The Lighthouse low vision clinic s social worker provides an intake examination for your patients to determine which other Lighthouse services may be of assistance to them. For more information about our programs and services, please visit www.thechicagolighthouse.org or call 312-666-1331. The following are some of the programs that can provide additional assistance to low vision service patients: Employment Services assists individuals who are blind, visually impaired or with multiple disabilities in preparing for and securing employment Adaptive Technology provides access to and training in the latest adaptive technology for vision impairment and blindness Seniors Services - offers computer training, social support and activities for seniors with vision impairments CRIS Radio a radio reading information service providing auditory access to local newspapers and magazines Orientation and Mobility Training helps restore independent travel and confidence to individuals realizing vision loss Deaf/Blind Program provides social services, crisis intervention, functional assessment, advocacy to people with both hearing and vision impairments Birth to Three program offers home-based early developmental therapy to infants up to age 3 who are blind or visually impaired Seeing is Believing provides no-cost low vision exams and devices to children experiencing vision loss If you feel your patient requires any of these Lighthouse services and has already received clinical low vision rehabilitation please feel free to contact us to coordinate referral.
Kara Crumbliss, O.D. Director of Clinical Services Dr. Crumbliss received her optometry degree from the Illinois College of Optometry in 2003 and completed a residency in Low Vision and Ocular Disease at the ICO and the Deicke Center for Visual Rehabilitation in 2004. Upon joining the faculty of the Illinois College of Optometry on a part-time basis in 2004, she also began practice as a Low Vision Consultant with The Chicago Lighthouse. Dr. Crumbliss is currently the Director of Clinical Services at The Chicago Lighthouse. She also works as the Coordinator of ICO s Low Vision and Ocular Disease Residency and as an Associate Clinical Professor in the Primary Care and Low Vision Rehabilitation Services of the Illinois Eye Institute. Her research interests include the association of Low Vision with: Charles Bonnet Syndrome; Cognitive Impairment; and Alzheimer s. Dr. Crumbliss is a member of the American Optometric Association Low vision Section, the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, and a board member of the Illinois Society for the Prevention of Blindness.
Alfred A. Rosenbloom, M.A., O.D., D.O.S. Chair Emeritus Dr. Rosenbloom is one of the founders of The Chicago Lighthouse Low Vision Rehabilitation Service and has been the driving force for opening low vision satellite locations. Dr. Rosenbloom is the former Distinguished Professor of the Illinois College of Optometry (ICO) and served as ICO s Dean, then President for over 25 years. He is a Clinical Professor in the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Illinois Medical Center and is a Diplomate of the Low Vision Section of the American Academy of Optometry. In his role as Past President of Volunteer Optometric Services to Humanity, he completed over 25 eye missions to foreign countries to provide free eye examinations and eyeglasses to individuals in need and was recognized for his contributions as VOSH/ International s 2007 Humanitarian of the Year. He is an author of numerous scientific papers and a contributing author and editor to several textbooks in the field including the 3rd edition of Vision and Aging. Dr. Rosenbloom has received Lifetime achievement awards from The Chicago Lighthouse and Prevent Blindness America, as well as the Distinguished Service Award from the American Optometric Association where he served previously as acting chair of their Low Vision Rehabilitation and Geriatric Services. He is also a recipient of the William Feinbloom Memorial Award for excellence in low vision services and the Migel Medal from the American Foundation for the Blind.
Tracy Matchinski, OD, FAAO Low Vision Optometrist Dr. Matchinski graduated from the Illinois College of Optometry in 1995 and completed her residency at the William Feinbloom Low Vision Rehabilitation Center of the Pennsylvania College of Optometry in 1996. She splits her time between The Chicago Lighthouse for People who are Blind or Visually Impaired and the Low Vision Rehabilitation Services at the Illinois Eye Institute. She has been practicing Low Vision Care for 12 years and has a special interest in pediatric Low Vision Rehabilitation. Dr. Matchinski is a Low Vision Diplomate of the American Academy of Optometry and has lectured both nationally and internationally on Low Vision Rehabilitation. She is a chapter author in the low vision textbook Essentials of Low Vision Practice, and she is involved in several research projects including portable electronic magnifiers and the National Eye Institute EP Hemianopic Lens multi-center clinical trial. Dr. Matchinski is currently the Chief of the Low Vision Rehabilitation Service at the Illinois Eye Institute and the Low Vision class coordinator for third year optometry students. She also is president-elect of Illinois Volunteer Optometric Services to Humanity and an active member on volunteer missions providing eye care, glasses and low vision devices.
Elise Corgiat, O.D. Low Vision Optometrist Dr. Elise Corgiat is a 2005 graduate of the Illinois College of Optometry and received her undergraduate degree from the Illinois State University in 2001. She then received advanced clinical training during her completion of a Low Vision/ Ocular Disease Residency at the Illinois College of Optometry in conjunction with The Chicago Lighthouse for the Blind or Visually Impaired concluding in July of 2006. She was added to the Chicago Lighthouse staff of low vision doctors in August of 2006. She was appointed as an Adjunct Clinical Instructor of Optometry with the Illinois College of Optometry in 2007 for her work with teaching students and residents at The Chicago Lighthouse. She is also a member of several professional organizations including the American Optometric Association and the Illinois Optometric Association since 2005, the Low Vision Rehabilitation Section of the American Optometric Association and the Illinois Society of the Prevention of Blindness.
Karen Squier, O.D. Low Vision Optometrist Dr. Karen Squier is a 2001 graduate of the Pennsylvania College of Optometry, and in 2002 completed a residency in Low Vision Rehabilitation at the Pennsylvania College of Optometry. She received her undergraduate degree in Biology from the University Of Pittsburgh - Johnstown. Dr. Squier served as a clinical instructor of third and fourth year students at the Pennsylvania College of Optometry before relocating to Chicago. She joined the Lighthouse staff in 2006. She currently serves as a Clinical Instructor of Optometry teaching ICO students and residents in the Illinois Eye Institute s Low Vision Rehabilitation and Primary Care Services and at The Chicago Lighthouse.
Carol L. Barron, O.D., FMO Low Vision Optometrist Dr. Barron received her degree in Optometry from the State University of New York College of Optometry and her undergraduate degree from the University of Illinois at Champaign- Urbana. She formerly served as Chief of Primary Eye Care Education at the State University of New York, University Optometric Center where she also served as attending staff in the department of Low Vision Services. Dr. Barron is former Director of Low Vision Services at Illinois Masonic Hospital and at Resurrection Medical Center. She is an honored Diplomate of the Low Vision Section of the American Academy of Optometry. Since 1994 Dr. Barron has been the Director of Low Vision Services at Northwestern Medical Faculty Foundation and has an academic appointment with Northwestern University s Feinberg School of Medicine as an Associate Clinical Professor of Ophthalmology. In addition, she heads the Low Vision Service at North Suburban Vision Consultants, a private group practice in Deerfield, Illinois. Dr. Barron is an adjunct faculty member of the Illinois, Pennsylvania at Salus University, and University of St. Louis at Missouri Colleges of Optometry. With the affiliation of The Chicago Lighthouse and Northwestern Memorial Medical Faculty Foundation, Dr. Barron plans to continue her long tradition of delivering state of the art low vision rehabilitation services to her patients.
Gerald A. Fishman, M.D. Consulting Ophthalmologist Dr. Gerald A. Fishman is currently Professor of Ophthalmology and Director of the Electrophysiology Laboratory at the University of Illinois Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, UIC Eye Center. A graduate of Ohio State College of Medicine in 1969, Dr. Fishman pursued his internship training at the Mt. Sinai Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio from 1969 to 1970. He then completed a three-year residency training program in ophthalmology in 1973 and a one-year fellowship in ophthalmic pathology in 1974 at the University of Illinois Eye and Ear Infirmary in Chicago. After joining the staff at the University of Illinois Eye and Ear Infirmary in 1974, as an assistant professor, Dr. Fishman spent the subsequent 34 years caring for patients and conducting investigations on various forms of hereditary disorders of the retina. Dr. Fishman has published over 200 articles in major opthalmic journals. He was listed as one of the Top Doctors in Chicago by Chicago Magazine, as well as one of The Best Doctors in America. He has served as a consultant to the Lighthouse s Low Vision Clinic since 1976, where he provides opthalmological examinations to people who are blind or visually impaired.
Patricia Grant-Jordan, B.A., M.S. Director of Low Vision Research Ms. Patricia Grant-Jordan, Director of Low Vision Research, has been involved with VA research for seven years in collaboration with the Jesse Brown VAMC and the University of Illinois at Chicago, Department of Ophthalmology. Ms. Grant-Jordan has been instrumental in providing training for patients with macular disease in our reading rehabilitation program funded by the Department of Veterans Affairs. Her research interests include methods for assessing vision loss in retinal diseases and investigating the relationship between the psychological status and visual function in low vision patients. Ms. Grant-Jordan has an educational background in psychology and has recently obtained her Master s of Science Degree in Public Health from the University of Illinois at Chicago.
David M.C. Rakofsky, Psy.D. Assoc. Dir. of Psychological Services Trained as a generalist in the field of clinical psychology, Dr. Rakofsky has spent the majority of his career treating a highly diverse clientele within a range of settings, including: his Chicago private practice; several hospitals where he is on staff; and in community mental health centers, serving some of the most economically disadvantaged outpatients in an urban context. It was within this latter setting where he was a director of internship training, recruiting and working with students from around the nation poised to complete their final year of doctoral work under his supportive guidance. Dr. Rakofsky has brought his passion for psychology training to the agency, where he will be developing America s future Low Vision Psychologists. Dr. Rakofsky participated as an investigator on research studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago focused on the best possible functional rehabilitation of patients with agerelated macular degeneration. His work in this realm continues at The Chicago Lighthouse where he is collaborating with a number of research teams, including the agency s new Low Vision Research group. Dr. Rakofsky earned a doctorate from The Illinois School of Professional Psychology, Chicago, and a Master of Arts Degree in Clinical Adult Psychology from Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville.
Hillary Napier, M.S., OTR/L Associate Director of Occupational Therapy Ms. Hillary Napier is a graduate of the Colorado State University s Master of Science Occupational Therapy program in 2005. She completed her Bachelor of Science degree in Human Rehabilitative Services at The University of Northern Colorado in 2003. She is a member of the American Occupational Therapy Association. She has been part of the Low Vision Clinic since June 2008. Through her position as the Occupational Therapist in the Low Vision Clinic, she works with the Low Vision Team to help her patients maintain quality of life and independence with daily activities through maximizing each individual s remaining vision. Before joining the Lighthouse team, Hillary s experience was with in-patient stroke, brain injury and spinal cord injury populations at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. Hillary actively participates in low vision care and is continuously updating her knowledge base by attending national low vision conferences.
Clinic Locations Lighthouse Rolling Meadows North Glenview Elk Grove Village The Chicago Lighthouse Woodridge To make an appointment at Calumet City or Flossmoor locations, call (708) 915-4737. For appointments at all other locations, please contact our call center at (312) 997-3686. for People Who Are Blind or Visually Impaired www.chicagolighthouse.org Northwestern Memorial Calumet City Main Low Vision Clinic Locations The Chicago Lighthouse 1850 W. Roosevelt Rd., Chicago, IL The Chicago Lighthouse Vision Rehabilitation Center 222 Waukegan Rd., Glenview, IL Satellite Locations Northwestern Memorial 675 N. St. Clair, 15th Floor Dept. of Ophthalmology, Galter Pavilion Calumet City Ingalls Center for Outpatient Rehabilitation 1551 Huntington Dr. Elk Grove Village Eberle Medical Office Building at Alexian Brothers Medical Center 800 Biesterfield Rd., Ste. 730 Flossmoor Ingalls Family Care Center 19550 Governors Highway, Room 1423 Glenview Chicago Glaucoma Consultants Eye Center Suite 100, 2640 Patriot Blvd. Rolling Meadows Northwest Community Outpatient Building 3300 Kirchoff Rd. Woodridge Seven Bridges Eye Care 6440 Main Street, Suite 100 Woodridge, IL 60517