Now a year old, InfantSee program continues to thrive

Started nearly a year ago, the InfantSee program continues to grow and thrive, with more than 7,300 American Optometric Association-member doctors providing this public health service. According to Scott A. Jens, OD, FAAO, chair of the AOA InfantSee Committee, InfantSee has achieved its goal of having a participating doctor located within 1 hour of every infant in America.

“The future of InfantSee is optimistic, because AOA expects more optometrists to see more infants,” he said in an interview with Primary Care Optometry News. “We also expect the participation of more optometrists in diverse practice settings.”

Participating AOA members will provide no-cost assessments to all infants less than a year old.

Outcomes and goals

In its first year of existence, the InfantSee program has attracted more optometrist involvement in certain states, according to Dr. Jens.

Scott A. Jens

“According to AOA staff tracking the program, doctors in Ohio, Wisconsin and Colorado have been particularly involved, due to strong support of their state optometric associations,” he said. “The AOA is currently conducting a detailed survey of the participating doctors, to learn their likes and dislikes regarding the program.”

According to surveys conducted at some of the larger optometry meetings, most ODs report seeing about one infant a month for an InfantSee assessment. “For that reason, AOA has targeted a goal of 100,000 assessments in 2006,” he said.

With additional public awareness, the goal for 2007 is 250,000 assessments and up to 500,000 in 2008, Dr. Jens said.

“To truly know how many assessments are being done, the AOA created an InfantSee clinical assessment form,” he said. “This includes a carbonless second copy that contains no identifiable information about the infant, which is to be mailed to the AOA after each visit.”

Dr. Jens said while these forms are simple and need only to be faxed or mailed to the AOA, they are not being returned by all doctors. For this reason, he said, the AOA is working on improving communications to the doctors to increase the returns.

He said through the end of 2005, a data collection process showed that in more than 5,000 returned forms, nearly one in eight infants was identified as “at risk” for future problems. “An at-risk refractive status was noted in about 5% of the cases,” Dr. Jens said, “and at-risk status for binocularity/alignment and ocular health was each seen in about 2.5% of the assessments.”

ODs must be ambassadors

Dr. Jens said that to meet the AOA’s goal of 100,000 assessments in 2006, individual optometrists must become more active in making their communities aware of the program. “To reach such a goal, more optometrists must become ‘ambassadors’ of the program within their own practices and communities,” he said. “Some doctors have expected the AOA to have a broader public relations campaign. However, precious resources were used to launch the program in 2005, and it is impossible for the AOA to spend millions of dollars on this program without cost to the membership.”

As part of a public awareness campaign, Dr. Jens said the AOA has been represented at the annual meetings of the American Academy of Pediatrics and the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners and will be in attendance at the annual meeting of the National Rural Health Association.

ASCO, APHA involvement

The InfantSee program has also been implemented in 15 of the 17 schools and colleges of optometry, according to Larry Davis, OD, president of the Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry (ASCO).

“We are proud of the active and widespread participation of the schools and colleges of optometry in the InfantSee program,” Dr. Davis said in an interview. “We expect the program to expand as awareness for the great service provided through InfantSee spreads.”

The AOA has also been working with leaders of the Vision Care Section of the American Public Health Association (APHA) to include a program update in the APHA’s periodical, Nation’s Health, Dr. Jens added.

ODs must promote program in their communities

According to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho-based practitioner Sarah Marossy, OD, a practitioner cannot count on the community being aware of the InfantSee program. “The phone is not going to be ringing off the hook with people proactively asking about the InfantSee program,” she told Primary Care Optometry News. “It really depends on how much you promote the program within your community.”

Sarah Morossy

Dr. Marossy is actively involved in promoting the program within her community. She has worked with local Parent Teacher Associations, pediatricians, the local Early Head Start program and a nurses’ outreach program, Idaho Panhandle Health District, in Northern Idaho.

“These nurses provide a lot of care in the community for people who need the resources,” she said. “They go into homes in rural areas of Northern Idaho, and they are already working with a lot of high-risk infants. So, we’re being proactive with the tools the AOA has given us to go out and market the program.”

Dr. Marossy also explains the program at a support center for new mothers, called Mother’s Haven. This facility offers information about breastfeeding, basic care and various aspects of infant health. “I give presentations to the mothers, who are attending classes there weekly,” she said. “I pass out InfantSee brochures, and a lot of the mothers are surprised that you can even examine an infant’s eyes at that age.”

Dr. Marossy said her practice currently sees about one infant per week as a result of the InfantSee program. “Many times, I’ll be seeing a 7- or 5-year-old, and the mother has an infant with her,” she said. “I’ll tell her about the InfantSee program, and she’ll schedule an appointment.”

Dr. Marossy said willingness to promote the program is key to its success, but it is well worth it. She added that the additional exposure to the community is always good for an optometry practice. “It gives you a chance to really connect with your community, especially if you are a newer practitioner,” she said. “It gives you a good foot in the door for communicating with various other health care providers, such as pediatricians and nurses. It gives you a reason to confidently walk into their offices.”

Support for program creates “domino effect”

Optometrists who are very involved in implementing the InfantSee program report that it has generated positive results throughout the entire community. According to Mile Brujic, OD, a practitioner located in Bowling Green, Ohio, the enthusiasm he has shown for InfantSee has been infectious within the community.

Mile Brujic

“It’s a domino effect,” he said in an interview. “When people see the genuine passion you have in providing these services on a volunteer basis, it makes them want to be responsible about eye care as well.”

Dr. Brujic said an approach that couples education with enthusiasm resonates with both patients and fellow providers. “Pediatricians have really embraced this program,” he said. “Everybody is busy, but when you hear that there is a program set up that is going to give every child under age 1 a free eye exam, that’s a no-brainer.”

He said that getting the word out about the incidence of amblyopia is a crucial first step. “When people hear about the fact that 3% to 5% of people have some type of amblyopia, they’re surprised,” he said. “And then we tell them what the InfantSee program can do and that it’s free of charge.”

He said the InfantSee program essentially eliminates obstacles to quality vision care for children. “With this program, there are no barriers to reaching your eye health provider,” he said. “We are removing every single barrier that somebody might use as an excuse. All they need to do fiscally is show up.”

Dr. Brujic said his office’s statistics from InfantSee so far align with national averages. “The patients I have identified are those with risk factors such as a large amount of farsightedness or an asymmetric refractive error between the two eyes,” he said. “Things so far really correspond to the national averages.”

He said practitioners who may be hesitant to perform an exam on an infant should move beyond those concerns. “Practitioners who might be apprehensive about examining infants should really push those fears aside and get in there and do it,” he said. “In my experience, it’s more of a rarity that you find an infant who is bad or crying; these kids look right at you. They’re usually very cooperative.”

For more information:

• Scott A. Jens, OD, FAAO, is chair of the AOA InfantSee Committee. He can be reached at Isthmus Eye Care, SC, 7601 University Ave., Middleton, WI 53562; (608) 831-3366; fax: (608) 831-8470; e-mail: scottjensod@isthmuseye.com.
• Larry Davis, OD, is president of the Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry. He can be reached at 6110 Executive Blvd., Ste. 510, Rockville, MD 20852; (301) 231-5944; e-mail: mwall@opted.org.
• Sarah Marossy, OD, can be reached at Coeur d’Alene Vision Source, 850 Ironwood Dr., Ste. 104, Coeur d’Alene, ID 83814; (208) 765-2020; e-mail: sarahmarossy@verizon.net.
• Mile Brujic, OD, can be reached at 1222 Ridgewood Dr., Bowling Green, OH 43402; (419) 352-2502; e-mail: brujic@prodigy.net. For more information on the program, go to www.InfantSee.org.