Lions Club provides glasses, hearing aids to those in need GUARDIAN ANGEL ,FOOT CARE Diabetic Foot Care Advanced Wound Care Latest Technologies Fellow American professional Wound Care Association Infections Heel Pain Ingrown Toenails Foot & Leg Ulcers Injuries Medicare Provider DR. TOM LANE Podiatrist 941-473-3 2400 S. McCall Rd,E FILE PHOTO AND By RENEE LePERE FEELING FIT CORRESPONDENT ometimes, the request is as simple as needing a new pair of glasses because a person acci- dentally broke the frame, said Bill Ringelstein, Punta Gorda Lions Club sight chairman said. Other times, its more pressing a person needs new spectacles because he or she failed an eye screening at the Florida Depart- ment of Motor Vehicles, and his or her license is suspended. And then there are the times a person really needs help. "I'd say maybe about six times a year we'll get a request for someone that has cataracts, a detached retina or glaucoma who needs surgery," Ringelstein said. "The eligibility is income-based, but the cost of the procedure doesn't deter us at all." Preventing blindness and help- ing people with their vision has been a "pet project" for Lions Club International. In almost a century, it counts saving the sight of more than 15 million children through eye screenings and glasses, providing nearly 8 million cataract surgeries and vaccinating 41 million African chil- dren against measles, a leading cause of blindness on the continent. Those eye and hearing screen- ings have been provided locally by chapters of the Lions Club to children and adults of all ages. Ringelstein said the club also provided $35,000 in eye exam equipment to the Early Learning Coalition of Florida's Heartland - which provides preschool services to Charlotte, Hardee, DeSoto and Highlands counties. Ringelstein said the Lions Club assists the Early Learning Coalition (ELC) with eye and hearing screenings and body-mass index readings. "At one time, they were funded by the state," Ringelstein said. "Now, they're an unfunded mandate. They (ELC) came to us for help and we purchased the equipment and trained about 12 volunteers to do the screen- ings. We'll start again in August before school starts." Ringelstein said the hearing screen- ing equipment can be used on chil- dren as young as 4 months old. "It produces just a tiny amount of air and measures the amount of de- flection off the eardrum," Ringelstein said. "It can detect any abnormalities." Some of the eye screening equip- ment has become just as high-tech. FOR MORE INFORMATION The Punta Gorda Lions Club provides free eye screenings from 9 a.m. to noon the fourth Saturday of the month at Edgewater Methodist Church, 19190 Cochran Blvd., Port Charlotte. For more information about the program, hearing screening or how to donate money, hearing aids or glasses, call Bill Ringelstein, Lions sight chairman, at (941) 637-9979. The Punta Gorda Lions meet at 5:30 p.m. (dinner) 6:30 p.m. (meeting) the second and fourth Mondays of the month at the Sheraton Four Points, 33 Tamiami Trail, Punta Gorda. The hotel is on U.S. 41 North, at the south end of the Peace River Bridge. Using a tool that Ringelstein said, "looks like a radar gun," a screener can measure both eyes simultaneous- ly from about 3 feet away. From that distance, 18 different measurements can be taken to deter- mine the health of the eye, Ringelstein said. Along with the screenings and collections of donated eye glasses and hearing aids, the club raises money for its Punta Gorda Lions Foundation. One of the foundation's purposes is to provide six $1,000 scholarships to a Charlotte High School senior planning to enter the medical field. It also donates scholarship money to Edison State College. Ringelstein said the college picks a student every year it deems needing tuition assistance. Lions Club International claims its 46,000 clubs and 1.35 million mem- bers make it the largest worldwide service club. The Lions Club was founded by Chicago businessman Melvin Jones after he told members of his local business club they "should reach beyond business issues and address the betterment of their communities and the world," according the Lions Club International. Jones' business club reached out to other groups around the country and the first Lions meeting took place in Chicago on June 7,1917. For more information about the Lions Club, visit www.lionsclubs.org. Go over your recent "screening" test results with the local expert Heart and Vascular Specialist Tom Kartis, M.D. FACS, FACC. FCCP Longest current track record of excellent outcomes in Cardiac Surgery in Charlotte County. The only local Double Board-Certified Cardiovascular Specialist who is also a member of both Society of Thoracic Surgery and Society for Vascular Surgery Demonstrating Commitment to Your Heart & Your Circulation 9 STROKE/CAROTID ULTRASOUND A BDOMINAL AORTIC ANEURYSM (AAA) ARTERIAL DISEASE (PAD) HEART SCAN (ECHOCARDIOGRAM) Call for your appointment (No referral needed) 235-4400 visit www.myheaptlungdoc.com American Colleges of Cardiology, Surgeons, Chest Physicians PORT CHARLOTTE PUNTA GORDA NORTH PORT ENGLEWOOD ARCADIA oThe Sun /Sunday, June 8, 2014 www.sunnewspapers.net Page 7 feelingfit.com