UMSL College of Optometry has one of the most active Student Volunteers of Optometric Services to Humanity (SVOSH) chapters in the country. Every year, our SVOSH members travel to numerous foreign countries to team with optometrists to provide vision care to thousands of individuals, most of whom have never received such care.
For many of our graduates and faculty this service to those greatly in need does not end once they receive their Doctor of Optometry degree. This story is about several such individuals who took time out of their busy schedules to change the lives of those they evaluated during mission trips to several foreign countries.
The “Missionary”. Dr. Diane (Werkmeister) Wilson (’88)
It is possible that no one graduate of the College of Optometry has provided more service to those in need than Dr. Diane Wilson. She has taken the initiative – and feels that it is an honor - to serve on no less than 20 VOSH eye missions. Her travels have taken her all over Central and South America with the last nine missions exclusively serving a country desperately in need of medical care as she explains:
“I enjoy traveling to Haiti once or twice a year for VOSH missions and return from each week-long mission with renewed gratitude for everything in my life. Each mission is an incredible experience, and it is exciting to see God work through our team to do amazing things. Our team usually consists of myself, Dr. Barbara Brown, as my co-leader, one or two other ODs, 4-5 optometry students and a few lay people. With the help of four to five experienced Haitian interpreters we are able to provide eye care and glasses to 1,200 to 1,600 patients in five different towns. Glaucoma is a huge problem in Haiti and we usually refer over a hundred patients for glaucoma and/or cataract surgery. We refer patients to the permanent eye clinic in Northern Haiti which we (Vision for the Poor and VOSH PA) established. The permanent clinic is run by three Haitian ophthalmologists and in addition to performing cataract surgery; they are also doing cyclodialysis surgery to damage the ciliary body and permanently reduce aqueous production for our glaucoma patients.”
Dr. Wilson credits her UMSL education and the service she provided in school as important factors in her career. “UMSL School of Optometry has made a huge impact on my life by providing me with the knowledge and skill to serve my patients both here and in Haiti. In Optometry school I had the opportunity to participate on three VOSH missions and met lifelong friends.”
Dr. Wilson owns Arnold EyeCare Center in Arnold, MO. She has been married for 23 years and has three children, the oldest of whom is also service-oriented and is following in his mother’s footsteps. “I have been very blessed to be able to share my passion for optometric service with my son, Jon, who will be joining me in Haiti for the January 2015 mission, along with Drs. Barbara Brown (’88) and Lesa Klein (’89). I might add that (Associate Clinical Professor and Director of Externships) Dr. Alex Harris(’86) has joined us on three missions. This will be my son's fourth VOSH mission and he will be starting Optometry School at UMSL-Optometry in Fall 2015,” added Wilson.
Peru is served by an “Angel”. Dr. Angel Novel-Simmons (’03)
Anyone who knows Dr. Angel Simmons, recognizes that service is very important to her and so it is not surprising that she recently embarked on a vision-based mission trip to Peru. She was eager to participate after being asked to assist by her classmate, Dr. Julie Emming-Thomas(’03) and it was an exceptional experience she reflects, “During our mission, we served the senior citizen community of the area. This was at the request of the Ministry of Health Department's Senior Liaison in conjunction with Esperanza De Ana and Main Street Church.”
The locations included were Papa Leon, Omas, Coaylla, and Asia (all communities within and just outside of Chilcha, Peru). Simmons reflects on her experience and all the lives she touched while in Peru, “we were able to see over 300 patients during the 4 days of clinic. Nearly all of the patients received some type of eyewear (sunglasses, readers, single vision, or bifocals) depending upon their needs. Additionally, Julie and I managed a large number of individuals with dry eye, intervened with medication therapy for those with glaucoma, and educated patients on the importance of ultraviolet protection.”
Consistent with all students and optometrists who are compassionate and service-minded, there are rewards that are overwhelming and result in a desire to continue serving Simmons said. “Words cannot begin to convey my gratitude for being given the opportunity to serve the people of Chilcha. They were so appreciative of my care and I was glad that I could use my talents to help! We are hoping to continue our efforts in Chilcha and have been invited to return in the future.”
Showing Haiti Christ’s Love. Dr. Julie DeKinder
Some mission trips are organized so the country being served is provided with numerous services and resulting benefits. Such was the case with Dr. Julie DeKinder, Associate Clinical Professor, who traveled on a medical mission trip to Haiti in May. The seven day long trip focused on giving both medical and eye care to several small villages in Haiti. The mission team was based at Haitian Christian Ministry (HCM) in Fonds-Parisien and assisted Haitian adults and children in many ways. “The mission team included 3 medical doctors, 2 optometrists, 7 nurses, and 15 students from Coburn University in Oregon,” commented DeKinder.
The team visited villages daily, anywhere from 1 hour to 4 hours away from HCM and spent one day at the local clinic on the HCM compound. HCM is dedicated to showing Haiti Christ's love through education, medical care, food, employment, and child sponsorship since 1974.
At each village the medical mission team would set up a medical clinic with pharmacy and a separate eye clinic. Dr. DeKinder and fellow optometrist, Dr. Dana McLaughlin provided patients with eyeglasses and ophthalmic medications, if necessary. The primary language in Haiti is Creole, as such, the primary method for determine a patient's prescription was retinoscopy. The students on the trip aided the medical teams and provided education about Christ and health care to the Haitian people and children. In addition to medical care, the mission team provided rice, beans, and cooking oil to the Haitian people that came to the clinic to receive medical care.
“One of the highlights of the trip involved an evening trip to a local orphanage where we were able to exam around 20 children and provide glasses to the children and orphanage caretakers,” said DeKinder.
The College of Optometry prides itself on admitting students who are service-oriented and truly want to enter optometry with the primary goal of serving other people. As Drs. Diane Wilson, Angel Novel Simmons, and Julie DeKinder have demonstrated, the desire to improve the quality of life of those in need is also a prominent quality of our graduates and our faculty.