WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Congressman Dan Boren was recently recognized for providing important leadership on health care policy issues by doctors of optometry from the Second District and their national organization, the 34,000 member American Optometric Association (AOA).
“I am honored to receive the 2008 Health Care Leadership Award, and I pledge to continue support for addressing these important health care issues in Congress,” Boren said. “I take the input I receive from eastern Oklahoma doctors and patients very seriously as I represent Oklahoma in Washington. “With Northeastern State University’s College of Optometry in Tahlequah being recognized as one of the nation's leading institutions in the education of optometric physicians, eastern Oklahoma has made significant contributions to vision health care.”
Boren recently voted in favor of the AOA-supported Vision Care for Kids Act (HR 507), which was approved by the U.S. House of Representatives last October. HR 507 would establish a federal grant program aimed at bolstering children's vision and learning initiatives developed by the states.
“Improving care options and increasing access to services is critical in many rural communities across eastern Oklahoma. There is still much work to do, but legislation like Vision Care for Kids is another step in the right direction,” Boren said.
Optometrists in Oklahoma and the AOA are working to pass legislation before Congress designed to safeguard sight, promote healthy vision among school-aged children and ensure access to much-needed primary eye and vision care.
The American Optometric Association represents more than 34,000 doctors of optometry, optometry students and para-optometric assistants and technicians. Optometrists serve patients in nearly 6,500 communities across the country, and in 3,500 of those communities are the only eye doctors.
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