Ontario Eye Care Needs Your Help!

ACTION REQUIRED

Please read the following message from the Ontario Association of Optometrists:

"Optometrists are proud to deliver high quality and accessible eye care — but eye care in Ontario is at serious risk right now.

Everyone knows how badly COVID-19 has strained our health care workers and decimated local businesses. Ontario’s optometrists are both. Now, as some businesses reopen their doors, many optometrists may be forced to close theirs — or drastically reduce their services.

For 30 years, previous governments neglected to invest in eye care – so OHIP now only covers half the cost of an eye exam. Optometrists subsidize the rest. And social distancing means optometrists will only be able to see half the patients they did before COVID-19.

But it’s not just about the optometrist. It’s about you, the patient. It’s about your eyes. And your health.

Optometrists are ready for change – and are willing to work with patients and the government to save eye care in Ontario. It’s time to open the Ontario government’s eyes to a crisis that’s about to become all too visible – and ensure these essential, accessible local health professionals don’t disappear before our eyes."

The teams at Merivale Vision Care, Wellington Vision Care and Ottawa Vision Therapy are committed to continuing to serve our community in a sustainable way.

Please visit https://saveeyecare.ca/ to learn more and to submit a letter to your local MPP urging the Ontario Ministry of Health to acknowledge the importance of quality vision care for Ontarians. Our government needs to provide adequate coverage for urgent eye care and OHIP insured routine eye exams.

This takes only a few minutes, but if we act together in this incredibly important initiative we can improve eye care access for all Ontarians. We thank you for your ongoing support!