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The Illinois Eye Institute has expanded again – this time to the West Side of Chicago. IEI is now on board with Loretto Hospital, which is located in the Austin neighborhood, to help address an unmet community need by providing eye care. The IEI first started seeing patients on Wednesday, February 11. “Hospital support has been overwhelmingly positive, said Dr. Dominick Opitz. “There is already a one month wait for an appointment.” The IEI clinic at Loretto Hospital is projected to grow and expand, and the goals are to incorporate students into the site and develop an inter-professional educational experience with the medical students that rotate through Loretto. For now, Dr. Opitz is seeing patients at Loretto on Wednesday afternoons.

On Thursday, Feb. 19, from 5-8 p.m., the institution will be changing phone service providers. During this time the ICO/IEI phone system will be unable to communicate outside of the college for brief periods of time. This maintenance window only affects placing and receiving external calls. All internal calling will remain functional, as well as all computer and network systems.

The cafeteria will be closed for spring break starting Sunday, Feb. 15. It will reopen for normal business hours on Monday, Feb. 23.

Due to the planned power outage this Sunday, Feb. 15 (see item below), IS systems and network equipment will be unavailable from 5 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday. Impacted systems include, but are not limited to: MediaSite; NextGen; Forum; Shared Drives; Library, RC, Eyepod and Computer Training Lab PCs; ICO and IEI employee PCs; all printers; wireless access; internet access; and Cisco phone system. Applications hosted offsite including My.ICO, Sakai, BlackBaud and MediTrek will be unaffected.

Facilities will be shutting down the IEI’s main power source for maintenance purposes on Sunday, Feb. 15. The RC and Brady Hall will not be affected. All power should be back on by 1 p.m.

If you’re searching for something to give someone special for Valentine’s Day, look no further. The cafeteria is offering heart-shaped Otis Spunkmeyer cookies for $5 apiece. Five varieties are available: chocolate chip, double chocolate chip, M&Ms, peanut butter and oatmeal raisin. To order, fill out this form and submit to Christine Gallagher by Thursday, Feb. 12.

The Private Practice Club, along with Optometric Insights, is sponsoring an event on Wednesday, Jan. 28 at 6 p.m. in room 1201. Presented by Dr. Mile Brujic, “What You Need to Know Now to Achieve Professional Success” is an interactive discussion that highlights the period leading up to graduation. Topics to be covered during this informative presentation include: * Where do I practice? * What type of practice is right for me? * How do I find the right practice? * How do I effectively communicate with hiring practitioners? * How do I differentiate myself? * Should I own or be employed? * Where do I get resources? * What type of compensation can I expect? * What’s the importance of lawyers and accountants? This event is free for Private Practice Club members and $5 for non-members. Food will be provided. Clinic attire is required. Sign up for the event here by Monday, Jan. 26 at 3 p.m. Please notify Private Practice Club President-Elect Casey Wilgenbusch at least 48 hours before the event if you are unable to attend.

CHICAGO –The Illinois College of Optometry is proud to announce the opening and dedication of the Alfred and Sarah Rosenbloom Center on Vision and Aging at the Illinois Eye Institute. The new facility is located on the ICO campus and is committed to the vision care needs of an aging population. With the rate of severe vision loss set to double by 2030, mirroring the increase in the number of people 65 and older, the Rosenbloom Center is a forward-thinking solution to a fast-growing problem. The center offers primary and secondary vision care to adults, vision rehabilitation and adaptive technology for vision-impaired patients of all ages, occupational therapy, electrophysiology services and psychological support. “Aging patients need specialized attention, and our approach to care includes technologies and therapies that are available at very few other specialty eye centers in Chicago,” said Rosenbloom Center chief Eric Baas, OD. “Patients of all ages in Chicago will benefit from the specialists and services at the Rosenbloom Center.” The center honors Dr. Alfred Rosenbloom and his wife, Sarah. Dr. Rosenbloom served as dean of ICO from 1955 to 1972, president from 1972 to 1982 and remains a distinguished professor emeritus. He was inducted into the National Optometry Hall of Fame in 2010.The establishment of this innovative center ensures Dr. Rosenbloom’s long career, dedication to the practice of optometry and commitment to ICO will be recognized for decades to come. “We believe the $1.82 million center represents a new standard in patient-focused care, not only in Chicago but across the country,” said ICO president Arol Augsburger, OD. “We are beyond pleased the Rosenbloom Center has met the initial fundraising goal and a year ahead of schedule. But, this is just the start – the center is on a trajectory for exciting growth and will continue to benefit from additional support.” Designed by Chicago-based architecture and interior design firm Jensen & Halstead, the Rosenbloom Center received generous support from lead donors Dr. Alfred and Mrs. Sarah Rosenbloom and more than 225 benefactors including Dr. Roger G. Bakewell, Dr. and Mrs. Donovan L. Crouch, Essilor of America, Inc., and Haag-Streit USA and Reliance Medical Products. For more information, visit RosenbloomCenter.org. About the Illinois College of Optometry The Illinois College of Optometry (ICO) is among the world’s leading optometric institutions and has provided exceptional clinical education since its founding in 1872. Located in Chicago, ICO is also home to the Illinois Eye Institute. The heart of the college’s clinical division, the IEI is a nonprofit multi-specialty eye center with more than 100,000 annual patient visits. Learn more at ico.edu.

FCO’s annual raffle fundraiser is set for the week of Dec. 8-12. Tickets will be available for purchase from 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m., Monday through Friday. LOTS of exciting raffle prizes have been donated! Prices are as follows: $2 for one ticket, $5 for six and $10 for 15.

The AAO Poinsettia Sale is going on now. Purchase a poinsettia by Friday, Dec. 5, for $15 for your home or a friend. The poinsettias will deliver by Dec. 11th.  Email EOkaj@eyedoc.ico.edu to place your order today! AAO is also hosting a Trivia Night/Battle of the Brains on Friday, December 12 in the Lecture Center. Teams can consist of 3-5 people; entry will be $5/person. Top three teams will win prizes!  Email TLau@eyedoc.ico.edu to sign up your team.

The Annual Holiday Food Drive kicked off this week, and goes until Tuesday, Dec. 2. They’re collecting non-perishable food items to support the St. James Food Pantry, which serves food to low income families and elderly people in need of assistance. Suggested items include canned fruit, vegetables, tuna and meat; cereal; boxed dinners; soup; pasta; pasta sauce; and peanut butter. As soon as the food drive ends, the Holiday Clothing Drive begins. It starts Tuesday, Dec. 2 and goes through Tuesday, Jan. 6. If the last few days are any indication, this winter is going to be COLD. For all you students going home for winter break, keep an eye out for any items you may no longer need. Last but not least, this year the board would like to start a new tradition: They want to adopt about 20 at-risk individuals, aged 18-21, for Christmas. These youth are part of an organization called ChildServ. The goal is for people from ICO to adopt one person and buy them gifts for Christmas; you can do it on your own or in a group. Gifts don’t have to be extravagant, and you’ll receive information about your individual in advance. Before the board commits to ChildServ, they’d like to gauge interest. If you’d like to take part, or have any questions, please email Umema Ahmed by the end of the week. All donations are greatly appreciated!

Illinois College of Optometry Study Determines Birth Order Can Affect Reading Readiness and Academic Performance CHICAGO – Birth order is thought to affect everything from a child’s personality to IQ. Now researchers at the Illinois College of Optometry have concluded that birth order can also affect vision. In the first known study of its kind, researchers have concluded that first-born children tend to have better eye movement skills, which suggest a higher reading readiness prior to entering kindergarten. Drs. Christine L. Allison and Darrell G. Schlange, professors at the Illinois College of Optometry in Chicago, presented the findings at the American Academy of Optometry’s annual meeting in Denver. “Our research demonstrates that first or only children enter kindergarten with better visual function,” said Dr. Allison. “This may result in early school success and earlier reading when compared to children later in the birth order,” said Dr. Schlange. The results suggest that coloring, drawing, putting together puzzles, solving mazes and working in activity books — activities first-born children are routinely encouraged to perform before entering kindergarten — may lead to better eye movement skills at that age. Parents can help their children develop the eye movement skills necessary for early reading by focusing on one-to-one activities, such as reading books to their children, and near eye/hand activities such as coloring, drawing, or playing with puzzles, the researchers said. The study also looked at changes in visual function and found that 30 percent of students had developed vision problems between kindergarten and third grade. Not one of these students had been diagnosed with visual problems during their pre-kindergarten exams. “This is a trend we expect to see more often,” said Dr. Allison. “Students today use technology, such as computers, hand-held devices and tablets, in the course of their school day, but we are finding that those devices put undue stress on visual systems while they are still developing.” Researchers are careful to point out that increased screen time is only one variable at work; others include changes to kindergarten curriculum, less time for recess and recreation, and increased demands on students’ visual attention. Nevertheless, they recommend monitoring children’s use of backlit screens, even for educational purposes, to give kids’ visual systems a better chance to develop appropriately. The findings are part of a longitudinal study that followed a small population of students with similar socioeconomic backgrounds from kindergarten to third grade. Students at a Chicago parochial school were given comprehensive eye examinations including vision tests and full ocular health evaluations the summer before they entered kindergarten. A subset of the same group was examined again the summer prior to entering third grade. “We believe more research is needed to further examine the rapid changes in our children’s visual functions,” said Dr. Schlange. “Ours was a small sample size but we saw big changes.” Changes in visual function can have an effect on academic performance. “Reading in third grade historically moves away from the ‘learning to read’ model and becomes more focused on ‘reading to learn,’ which is why it is so important to diagnose any new or worsening vision problems before they cause academic difficulties,” said Dr. Allison. Based on their research, the doctors advise parents take their children for yearly eye exams beginning in kindergarten. “Very often, kids don’t know they can’t see properly, and they won’t tell their parents they have trouble seeing,” said Dr. Schlange. “That’s why it is important that children return for yearly follow-up exams as they get older and they experience increased visual demand from activities in and out of school.”