Community Outreach
The Illinois Eye Institute is involved in numerous community outreach programs to support the needs of citizens throughout Chicagoland and beyond.
Community Advisory Board
ICO has established a Community Advisory Board that includes representatives from local organizations, schools, churches who gather as needed to discuss community-related information. Pilgrim Baptist Church, the Mid-South Planning & Development Commission, the Greater Chicago Neighborhoods, the Near South Planning Board, and Olivet Baptist Church are just a few of the organizations that participate.
Developmental Disabilities Service
The DDS is committed to serving developmentally disabled patients with the fullest extent of services possible, as well as training future doctors to meet the multiple eye and vision care needs of special populations. Services are provided at the IEI. Faculty and students also coordinate and participate each year in the provision of vision and eye health screenings as well as eyewear for Special Olympians.
Illinois Eye Institute at Princeton
The IEI at Princeton is the largest school-based vision clinic in the nation, with 13 examination lanes. A partnership with Chicago Public Schools, this clinic–located inside Princeton Elementary School, which was closed by CPS in 2009–opened in 2011 and provides needed eye health and vision care to thousands of underserved CPS students. Services the clinic provides include eye exams, vision therapy, visual information processing testing, optical coherence tomography, and anterior and posterior segment photos, and eye-movement testing.
Princeton site is temporarily closed. Please call 312.949.7990 to schedule an appointment at the IEI's Lewenson Center.
Illinois School for the Visually Impaired
Twice a year, IEI faculty and residents travel to Jacksonville, Ill., to provide low vision services to the children at the Illinois School for the Visually Impaired. The Lions Club provides children with any low vision devices required to assist them with their education and daily activities.
InfantSEE
The InfantSEE initiative of the American Optometric Association ensures that eye and vision care becomes an integral part of infant wellness to improve a child’s quality of life. Comprehensive infant eye assessments are provided as a public health service within the first year of life at no cost to the patient/family.
Special Olympics
The IEI has long been the official provider of eye care for the Special Olympics. IEI students and faculty attend the Opening Eyes and Medfest vision screenings each year and, working with several sponsoring ophthalmic organizations, provide protective eyewear and glasses to athletes free of charge.
Vision of Hope
Since the inception of the Affordable Care Act, there has been a marked decline in the number of uninsured adults serviced by the Illinois Eye Institute. The Vision of Hope program can assist low income and un/under-insured patients as related to eye and vision services. The Illinois Eye Institute’s patient financial services team is ready and willing to assist patients and health centers in need of our services and can be contacted at 312-949-7119.
Vision Screenings
The IEI provides free vision screening services at schools and events in the Chicagoland area. For more information, please contact Dr. Katie Foreman.