The Oregon Elks - 50 Years of Making a Difference

2008 Oregon State Elks Eye Injury Prevention Contest Winners

The Elks Children's Eye Clinic is the major charitable project of the Oregon State Elks Association. The clinic would not be possible without the organization's commitment to providing eye care for babies and children.

Click here to learn more about the Elks Children’s Eye Clinic Vision Screening Program.

The Elks became involved with the University of Oregon Medical School (now Oregon Health & Science University) Medical School in 1949. That year, Dr. Kenneth Swan needed a piece of equipment called an oximeter for a baby whose father was an Oregon Elk. The Oregon Elks promptly raised $2000 for the oximeter. Soon after, the Elks' continued generosity established the Elks Children's Eye Clinic.

In the ensuing years, the Elks contributed enormously to the growth of the clinic, helping pay for the nation's first microscope for ocular surgery, the Northwest's first ophthalmic excimer laser, and Oregon's first photokeratoscope for children, just to name a few. Today, the visual program of the Oregon State Elks Association contributes over $500,000 per year to the Elks Children's Eye Clinic and the Oregon School for the Blind.

Financial assistance is not the only service the Elks contribute. They donate thousands of hours volunteering at the Casey Eye Institute: assisting patients, working on projects for staff, and providing information to the public with a smile. The Elks have also funded up-to-date equipment for the pediatric ophthalmology examination room located in the new Doernbecher Children's Hospital at the Oregon Health & Science University, and staffed by the faculty of the Elks Children's Eye Clinic.

Pediatric Eye Care Services at the Elks Children's Eye Clinic
These services focus on the entire family, providing a range of support to sighted and visually impaired children and their parents. The components of the program include parent support, outreach to rural communities and county health clinics, public education, and high-risk tracking and intervention. The faculty and staff of the Elks Children's Eye Clinic at the Casey Eye Institute are nationally renowned for their clinical care and research.

Clinical Services: The Elks Children's Eye Clinic provides full medical and surgical care of all pediatric eye problems, including the following.

• Vision assessment
• Amblyopia (lazy eye)
• Sports injuries
• Routine eye care
• Pediatric glaucoma
• Retinoblastoma
• Strabismus (eye misalignment)
• Pediatric cataracts
• Hereditary eye diseases
• Referral consultation
• Retinopathy of Prematurity
• Ocular trauma

Support Services:

• On-site optical shop
• Low vision specialist
• Clinical social worker

The Pediatric Ophthalmology Service at the Casey Eye Institute consists of four full-time physicians, one full-time orthoptist, and a pediatric social worker. This service, along with subspecialty consultants at the Casey Eye Institute, is able to offer complete eye care for children with any eye problem. All physicians in this department take care of common pediatric eye disorders such as refractive errors (the need for eyeglasses), strabismus (crossed or deviated eyes), and amblyopia ("lazy eye"), as well as less common disorders that affect children's vision.

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