MobilEYES

Southern College of Optometry MobilEYES Program Update

(May 17, 2023) – Southern College of Optometry will discontinue its MobilEYES Community Vision Program effective May 19, 2023 to focus more on enhancing the outstanding patient care services offered through the college’s three Clinical Program sites. 

SCO originally acquired the MobilEYES bus unit in 2015 from another Memphis nonprofit to help provide vision services to schoolchildren and others in the community. Since 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic had greatly impacted the program’s ability to reach patients. 

As a teaching institution, the college must prioritize the need of providing adequate clinical faculty coverage throughout SCO’s primary patient care facilities at The Eye Center at SCO, FocalPoint at Crosstown Concourse, and University Eyecare on the University of Memphis campus, said Dr. James Venable, SCO’s Vice President for Clinical Programs. 

SCO is finalizing the sale of the MobilEYES unit to a Community Health Center in another state, where the new owners will utilize the unit in the care of school-aged children who otherwise have limited access to appropriate eye health and vision care services, Dr. Venable said. A few staff members impacted by the end of the MobileEYES program will be reassigned to other duties throughout SCO’s Clinical Programs.

“SCO’s Clinical Programs provide exceptional eyecare and vision health services to nearly 60,000 patients each year at three different physical locations,” Dr. Venable said. “We also operate a robust school screening program, a Nursing Home/Assisted Living Program, on-site care through our Youth Villages Community Program, and other services that will continue to meet the needs of patients throughout our community in a more efficient and cost-effective method to the benefit of all involved.”

For questions or inquiries about other community-based patient services available through Southern College of Optometry’s Clinical Programs, please contact Dr. Aaron Kerr, SCO’s Chief of External Clinical Services, at [email protected]. 

About Southern College of Optometry’s Clinical Programs
Southern College of Optometry is an independent, not-for-profit institution of higher education with more than 500 students and residents from 40 states. SCO serves nearly 60,000 patients annually through its three Clinical Program sites: The Eye Center on the SCO campus, University Eye Care, on the campus of The University of Memphis, and FocalPoint at Crosstown Concourse. For more details, visit www.sco.edu.