Air National Guard Optometrist, Capt. Jill Holler, assigned to the Ohio National Guard’s 180th Fighter Wing, conducts a vision screening for Master Sgt. Christopher Ice, a health systems specialist also assigned to the 180FW (Air National Guard Photo by Senior Master Sgt. Beth Holliker).

The vision care service coordinator reaches out and offers ocular care management support to care managers assigned to patients with ocular injuries and conditions treated at military hospitals. And they work with VA liaisons at military hospitals to facilitate the transfer of eligible service members to Department of Veterans Affairs services, such as the VA low-vision telemedicine program or the Blindness Rehabilitation Service, White said.

Vision care service coordinators support the service member and their family to understand that there is life after eye injury, she added.

They work with the VCE's blind rehabilitation staff to develop tools and resources to better assist military hospital staff that support service members, White explained.

She noted, "On the outpatient level, the service members may have limited access to or information on low-vision equipment and support services. The clinic staff may also have a limited list of resources in geographical areas." Vision care service coordinators are well-versed in these special needs and have access to local and regional resources.

VCE is tasked with implementing and managing a registry of information to track diagnoses, interventions and treatments, and follow up for each case of significant eye injury sustained by a member of the armed forces while serving on active duty. The Defense & Veterans Eye Injury Vision Registry, or DVEIVR, was developed to address this requirement. Vision care service coordinators have access to patients enrolled in the DVEIVR so they can assist in helping identify their ocular care coordination needs.

Dr. David Eliason, an ophthalmologist and deputy division chief for VCE, explained how the hope for the future is how the registry will be used more for coordinating patient care.

"A potential point is that the registry could assist clinicians and caregivers in military treatment facilities in early identification of the ocular care coordination needs between the MTFs and VA for our service members," he said.

"The collaborative and cohesive working environment of DOD and VA staff facilitates the mission of VCE and strengthens our relationship with VA in support of our service members and veterans. Our VA partnership enhances our ability to serve the service member from injury through rehabilitation in support of optimizing the patient's vision outcomes," Eliason said.