National AMD and Low-Vision Awareness Month

By Mark Pelkey, Mildred Bulpitt Memorial
Low-Vision Support group Co-Facilitator

February is National Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) and Low Vision Awareness Month. Many of our fellow residents, like myself, find our environment to be somewhat challenging due to issues relating to low vision. Fortunately, a visionary woman (pun intended) here on campus founded a support group dedicated to addressing the issues of the visually impaired.

The Mildred Bulpitt Memorial Low Vision Group meets on the second Friday of each month to share resources and support for those of us who are coping with varying degrees of vision loss. We publish a reference list of eye doctors, optometrists, and local organizations that provide services for the visually impaired. Included on this list are specialists who treat macular degeneration, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, retinitis pigmentosa and, of course, the more commonplace near and farsightedness.

Our reference collection also includes information about Guide Dogs for the Blind, Veterans Administration contact numbers, access to campus and off-campus transportation services, local pharmacies, grocery stores and more.

At our meetings, we share news and information about the latest developments in eye care and technological advancements available to the low vision community. Technologies such as Talking Books, Audible.com, e-book readers, and various other programs and computer enhancements make dealing with a darkened or blurred world less stressful. The Mildred Bulpitt Memorial Low Vision Group strives to make certain that information about these products and services is readily available here at Beatitudes Campus. A further goal is the encouragement of a compassionate environment that ensures a level of comfort, not only for those of us with low vision, but the rest of campus residents as well.

As previously noted, February is National AMD and Low Vision Awareness Month, and you'll be seeing some of your fellow residents sporting buttons announcing that we have low vision. We with low vision may not recognize even our close friends at times, and the buttons will serve to encourage friends and acquaintances to identify themselves when greeting one another. Also, sometimes we may appear to be a bit turned around in our surroundings or we may need extra time to orient ourselves due to changes in lighting. Again, the buttons offer a quick and simple explanation to any helpful observer.

The Mildred Bulpitt Memorial Low Vision Group invites residents, family, and friends who may have questions or concerns relating to low vision support to join us on February 12 at 1:00PM in Boardroom East at our regularly scheduled meeting. Please contact Mark Pelkey at ext. 5586 or Mary Lou Philips at ext. 8371 for additional information. *

Author Info: Beatitudes Campus

At the foundation of Beatitudes Campus is the vision of Church of the Beatitudes pastors and congregation members to create a better alternative for older adults than the nursing homes of the early 1960s. The type of community they imagined was the first of its kind in Arizona. Beatitudes Campus is proud to continue the legacy of our founders, by being a leader in the field of aging services for over 50 years.