Johnson & Johnson Vision Calls on Individuals Worldwide to Prioritize Your Eyes in 2020
- Prioritize Your Eyes aims to elevate eye health and encourages everyone to put their vision first by getting an eye exam
- Company releases “Our Global Vision for Good: 2019 Community Impact Report” detailing efforts to provide access to eye care for those in need through advocacy and education, serving more than 40 million to date
- Effort seeks to reach the estimated 1 billion people suffering from visual impairment globally which could be prevented or treated if detected and addressed
Jacksonville, Fla. and Santa Ana, Calif., February 20, 2020 – Johnson & Johnson Vision, a global leader in eye health, today announced the launch of Prioritize Your Eyes, a worldwide effort to raise awareness about the connection of eye health to overall health. Prioritize Your Eyes encourages everyone to take the single most important step to protect their eyes—getting an eye exam—and is part of the company’s ongoing commitment and collaboration with various partners and professional organizations to elevate eye health and make 2020 the year of greater eye health awareness.
Click to Tweet: Sight is our most valued sense, but only 1 in 100 people understand the importance of eye exams. @JNJVision encourages you to #PrioritizeYourEyes by getting an eye exam in 2020—and continues its efforts to provide those in need with access to eye care: bit.ly/2H3rtg4
More than 2 billion people around the world suffer from visual impairment, yet 1 billion of these instances could have been prevented or is yet to be addressed.1 Additionally, the number of people experiencing blindness and visual impairment globally is expected to double by 2030 unless corrective measures are taken.2
The prevention and treatment of life-altering eye conditions can start with a single eye exam, which can detect more than 270 different medical conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and stroke risk, as well as cataracts, glaucoma, or retinal disorders such as macular degeneration.3 Despite the wide variety of health benefits that could result from an annual eye exam, only one in 100 people understand the importance of getting one.4
“In the U.S., about half of adults at high-risk for vision loss did not visit an eye care professional in the last 12 months2 and more than a third of children under 18 have never received an eye exam,5” said Carol Alexander, OD, Head, North America Vision Care Professional Relations, Johnson & Johnson Vision. “Many people wait to see their eye care professional until they experience blurry vision, which may be too late. Certain serious eye conditions, as well as general health conditions, do not have any symptoms and can be detected through a comprehensive eye exam. This is why an annual eye exam is so vital and why we’re working to help Prioritize Your Eyes.”
Johnson & Johnson Vision is committed to working with the eye health community to change the trajectory of eye health worldwide. Examples of this ongoing commitment are highlighted within the just released “Our Global Vision for Good: 2019 Community Impact Report,” which details the company’s signature charity partnerships and efforts to provide access to eye care to those in need:
- Nearly two decades ago, Johnson & Johnson Vision and Lions Clubs International Foundation co-founded Sight for Kids, which coordinates with ministries of health and education to deliver eye health care and services to children in underserved communities around the world. To date, Sight for Kids has provided more than 30 million children with access to eye health education and treatment services.
- Additionally, Johnson & Johnson Vision is proud to support HCP | CureBlindness, an organization that has screened and treated more than 11.5 million people and performed more than 940,000 surgeries in 20 countries.
- Around the world, this commitment is also exemplified by thousands of Johnson & Johnson Vision employees who volunteer their time and expertise by providing valuable resources to their own communities, including facilitating eye exams and vision screenings.
“As part of the world's largest healthcare company, Johnson & Johnson Vision is working collectively to make 2020 the ‘year of vision’—using our size and reach to elevate eye health awareness and the importance of eye exams to help as many people as possible,” said Shlomi Nachman, Company Group Chairman, Cardiovascular Specialty Solutions Group and Johnson & Johnson Vision. “We are proud to have provided access to care to millions of people around the world and look forward to further increasing our collaborations with advocacy, professional, and charitable organizations to help make caring for your eyes a global health priority.”
You can find an eye care professional for an annual eye exam here, and follow @JNJVision on Twitter and Johnson & Johnson Vision on LinkedIn to see how patients, eye care professionals, employees and partners worldwide make the commitment to Prioritize Your Eyes in 2020.
About Johnson & Johnson Vision
At Johnson & Johnson Vision, part of Johnson & Johnson Medical Devices Companies,* we have a bold ambition: to change the trajectory of eye health around the world. Through our operating companies, we deliver innovation that enables eye care professionals to create better outcomes for patients throughout their lives, with products and technologies that address unmet needs including refractive error, cataracts and dry eye. In communities with greatest need, we work in collaboration to expand access to quality eye care, and we are committed to helping people see better, connect better and live better. Visit us at www.jjvision.com. Follow @JNJVision on Twitter and Johnson & Johnson Vision on LinkedIn.
About Johnson & Johnson Medical Devices Companies
At Johnson & Johnson Medical Devices Companies, we are helping people live their best lives. Building on more than a century of expertise, we tackle pressing healthcare challenges, and take bold steps that lead to new standards of care while improving people’s healthcare experiences. In surgery, orthopaedics, vision and interventional solutions, we are helping to save lives and paving the way to a healthier future for everyone, everywhere.
Media Contact:
Abby Reiner
Johnson & Johnson Vision
904-443-1604
areiner@its.jnj.com
1 World report on vision. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2019. License: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO.
2 Keep an Eye on Your Vision Health. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/features/healthyvision/index.html. Accessed January 16, 2020.
3 Systemic Conditions with Ocular and Visual Manifestations. American Optometric Association. December 2019.
4 Surprising Eye Health Stats. VSP Vision. https://www.vsp.com/eyewear-wellness/eye-health/eye-health-survey-results. Accessed January 22, 2020.
5 VisionWatch Survey. The Vision Council.
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