Northwest Ohio Lions Eye Care Foundation

The Northwest Ohio Lions Eye Care Foundation, Inc. is the primary service activity of District OH1. Every Lion, in every club in District OH1  is a member the Foundation. Contributions to the Foundation are received from several sources, but most are donated by District OH1 Lions & Lioness Clubs. Applicants are also asked to help with the cost of the treatment, to the extent that they can. This is not a condition of assistance, only a means to stretch funds to continue helping others. The Foundation is an all-volunteer group with no paid staff and minimal expenses.  It is a 501(c)(3) tax deductible organization founded in 1988.

Every OH1 Lion is encouraged to attend the four quarterly meetings of the Foundation. Meetings are announced via letters and email to Lions Clubs, and through our District Newsletter.

Lions are renowned throughout the world for our focus on sight preservation and assisting those who have sight impairments. The goal of the Northwest Ohio Lions Eye Care Foundation is to help those who would otherwise "fall through the cracks" of government safety net programs or who have no insurance coverage. Although we accept referrals from a number of organizations it is expected that most will come to the Foundation from the local Lions or Lioness Club. We provide surgical care and funding where local Lions/Lioness Clubs cannot afford the expense.

Our medical director reviews and consults with the applicant’s surgeon to choose the best treatment option before approval. If no alternative payment resource is found, we work hard to negotiate the lowest cost for the treatment needed.

The following is a list of surgical procedures and vision equipment we may cover, following the review of an individual case and the granting of approval

• Corneal Transplants
• Cataract surgery which is limited to one eye unless extreme circumstances warrant
• Laser eye treatments for diabetes and diseases
• Other approved kinds of eye surgery including retina
• Assist with purchase of special, expensive eyeglasses and vision equipment

We also provide the following:

• Closed circuit television magnifiers for sight impaired people *
• Braille and auditory machines for blind people *
•           *Equipment is loaned to sight impaired people without charge for as long as needed.

The following list is items the Northwest Ohio Lions Eye Care Foundation will NOT do:

• Provide ordinary eyeglasses, white canes, contacts, and exams; instead they are obtained through the local Lions/Lioness Club
• Pay for anything without prior approval
• Pay for the services of out of state Doctors
• Take applications from anyone outside of the boundaries of District OH1
  (Allen, Auglaize, Defiance, Fulton, Hancock, Hardin, Henry, Logan, Lucas, Mercer, Paulding, Putnam, Shelby, Van Wert, Williams and Wood Counties)
• Pay for computers or other kinds of equipment that someone buys and find out they cannot make the payments 
• Pay for vision therapy except for occlusion treatment of amblyopia (lazy-eye) and limited to brain trauma such as TBI (traumatic brain injury) within Foundation financial limits, and may cover therapy for convergence disorders up to $1,000 but, the Foundation will not pay for perceptual vision therapy for reading problems.
• Pay if you have insurance of any kind that would cover the service

The following required forms must to be completed and delivered to PCC Darlene Roll using the contact information below. Click on the form's name to download.

• NWOLECF Application Cover Letter
• NWOLECF Application
• NWOLECF Doctor's report
• HIPAA NWOLECF Authorization

Application must be submitted no later than 14 days before quarterly meetings to allow sufficient time for surgeon consultation.

For more information or for a speaker for your OH1 club contact, PCC Darlene Roll at (937) 599-1111 or bhr8456 [at] embarqmail [dot] com.

Northwestern Ohio Lions Eyebank and the NWO Lions Eyecare Foundation History