Here are some facts about the Kansas City Free Eye Clinic:

• The KC Free Eye Clinic has been in operation since 2008 and operated at the Grand Avenue Temple United Methodist Church from October 2010 to May 2012. In such a short period of time, the Clinic was the recipient of many accolades and recognition including grants and funding from the Clinton Foundation, Pat Tilman Foundation, and the Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City. In 2012 the Clinic began its transition to a new space furnished inside the larger Hope Faith Ministries building.

• The Clinic is unique in many aspects in that it offers the full gamut of vision services going beyond a standard vision screening and therefore offers more value to an individual. Our ties with Truman Medical Center and the Eye Foundation allow uninsured and homeless patients to have, for example, free cataract removal surgeries among other follow up procedures.

• A clinic service runs every second Sunday of the month except for holiday weekends from 11:00 am – 2:00 pm and typically sees between 20-25 patients on two lanes.

• Since October 2010, the Clinic has provided service for over 250 patients every year in our standard clinic as well those through initiatives around the metropolitan area. These outreach efforts are targeted at schools and heavily underinsured areas. Our biggest screening project this year was the Convoy of Hope where we evaluated 615 patients!

• Many homeless and sheltered patients don’t have reliable living circumstances that can change frequently so it’s imperative that their eyeglasses are made quickly. Glasses are made right in Kansas City offering the quickest turnaround time for patients. This service is provided at no charge by Sabates Eye Centers and their opticians that provide volunteer service by producing the lenses over the weekend. Most patients need glasses; therefore between 250 – 300 pairs of glasses are dispensed in a year.