During that same time, several prominent Minnesotans recognized the need to end blindness from preventable causes and, as a result, formed the Minnesota Society for the Prevention of Blindness (now the Sight & Hearing Association) on July 14, 1939.

Dr. Frank Burch, chairman of the department of ophthalmology at the University of Minnesota Medical School, and his patient Eleanor Pillsbury, were the visionaries behind the society. They called on other notable Minnesotans - including state legislator Louis W. Hill Jr.; University of Minnesota President Guy Stanton Ford; and Amos Deinard, one of the founding partners of the Leonard, Street and Deinard law firm - to serve on the society’s first board of directors. It was Deinard who could relate personally to the organization’s mission: He was blind since childhood.

Deinard was born in 1898 in Terre Haute, Ind., the son of a rabbi. He gradually lost his vision at a young age and, by eighth grade, enrolled in the Faribault School for the Blind to learn Braille. His true tutor and companion turned out to be his brother Benedict, 18 months his junior, who remained at his side for the next 57 years. Together, they went through West High School, the University of Minnesota undergraduate college and law school, and the doctoral program at Harvard Law School. Amos and Benedict became the two Deinards behind what is now the 10th-largest law firm in Minnesota: Leonard, Street and Deinard.

Amos handled the society’s legal needs for years, drafting many of the statutes the society lobbied the state Legislature for in the 1940s - a fireworks ban in 1941, vision testing for driver’s license applications in 1948 and a BB-gun law in 1949. He was an active fund-raiser for the society as well.

The program consists of three tests - visual acuity, glaucoma and hearing - conveniently offered on-site to office employees. Rather than taking two hours at a doctor’s office, employees now can take 10 minutes out of their schedule to check their vision and hearing. If the screening detects a potential problem related to vision or hearing, screeners then recommend a complete follow-up visit with a medical professional.

The American Academy of Ophthalmology recommends a complete eye exam every two years for those 40- to 65-years-old. However, the average person has his or her eyes examined only every four years.

"If an eye disease - such as glaucoma - is caught early on, it can be treated from progressing any further", said Agnes Huang, M.D., an ophthalmologist at the University of Minnesota and member of SHA’s board of directors. "Frequently, however, people don’t realize they have an eye disease until it’s too late."

The same is true for hearing loss, which generally occurs gradually and may go unnoticed because it seldom involves pain. According to the Better Hearing Institute, more than 80 percent of patients seen by a primary-care physician for annual physicals are not given a hearing test.

"The last time most people had their hearing checked was in grammar school", said Ann Napp, audiologist and member of SHA’s advisory board. "Now, they’re 40-years-old and don’t realize their hearing is not as acute as it once was."

The screenings do not take the place of complete examinations by health-care professionals. The Sight & Hearing Association recommends that a person have regular vision and hearing exams by a medical professional.

"While it is unlikely that anyone would be injured by a brief flash from a laser pointer", said Martin Mainster, M.D., of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, "it is apparent that children may misuse them. It is important that parents and school officials realize laser pointers are not toys. Adults need to take laser pointers seriously and not allow children to play with them."

How long have you been involved with SHA?
I have been with the Sight & Hearing Association for approximately two years.

Why did you become involved with SHA?
Karen Arnold [a current board member] asked me to join the board after I was involved in the care of her son who had an eye condition associated with being born prematurely.

As an ophthalmologist, what tips can you offer to people about preventing vision loss or maintaining good sight?
The most important tips that I can offer people about preventing vision loss would be, number one, to wear safety glasses while they are cutting the grass or using edge trimmers, weed eaters or hammering. During the spring and summer, we commonly see a dramatic increase in the number of injuries related to hammering, grinding, power lawn equipment or recreational devices, such as fish hooks, BB guns or bows and arrows. Using these items with safety glasses would dramatically reduce the risk of eye injury. Another major aspect of preventing vision loss is recognizing diabetes and good control of the blood sugar which tends to prevent visual damage from the diabetes.

The Sight & Hearing Association is partnering with the Phillips Eye Institute - a specialty eye hospital of the Allina Health System - this winter to prevent motorists from suffering serious eye injuries or blindness from working around dead vehicle batteries.

Each year, nearly 6,000 people are injured from improperly jump-starting their vehicles. To help make this task easier, free jump-start safety stickers are available from the Sight & Hearing Association and Phillips Eye Institute. These fluorescent self-stick guides - perfect for placement underneath the hood of a vehicle - provide do’s and don’ts for a proper jump-start as well as a diagram showing the proper placement of jumper cables.