Low Vision Rehabilitation Unit

Contact Us: (632) 723-0101 ext. 5422; Direct Line: (632) 723-9517 / (632) 727-5422; Fax: (632) 727-5459
Location: International Eye Institute and Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation

St. Luke’s Medical Center is proud to have the country’s first vision rehabilitation center.

The St. Luke’s Low Vision Rehabilitation Unit, established under the International Eye Institute and the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, aims to help patients regain functional vision. It offers a complete program ranging from actual screening to training of people with low vision.

The Low Vision Rehabilitation Unit utilizes new approaches to vision rehabilitation that teach patients to maximize the use of their remaining vision and grant them many practical applications for activities of daily living (ADL). These services do not cure the cause of the vision problem but rather utilize the remaining vision to its fullest potential, thus empowering the visually impaired to take on the challenges of life.

What is Low Vision?
Low vision is a significant reduction of visual function not adequately correctable by standard glasses, contact lenses, medicine, or surgery. People with low vision are considered to be partially sighted, with best-corrected visual acuity of 20/70 or less in their good eye.

What causes Low Vision?
Low vision can result from a variety of diseases, disorders, and injuries that affect the eye. Many people with low vision have age-related macular degeneration, chronic glaucoma, or diabetic retinopathy. Older people are at higher risk for low vision because they are predisposed to develop these diseases.

How does Low Vision affect people's lives?
Low vision affects activities of daily living (ADL). Individuals with low vision experience physical, economic, and psychological changes that diminish their quality of life, (i.e. walking, outdoor activities, cooking, leisure activities, reading, sewing, traveling, engaging in sports, etc.) and the ability to perform job-related functions. In addition, they lose their in-depth perception and are at greater risk of falling and injuring themselves.

What should a person do if he has Low Vision?
The patient must take note and be aware of this visual handicap.

A person who has vision difficulties should immediately consult an ophthalmologist for an eye examination. If a person’s vision cannot be improved by conventional methods, such as glasses, contact lenses, medication, or surgery, information about vision rehabilitation must be sought.