VANCOUVER — Nelson Rivera, who lives in the Vancouver area, said he was very grateful to be able to get a free eye exam and glasses as part of the Kaiser Permanente MLK Days of Service volunteer week. Rivera, who is prediabetic, relies on his job as a ride-share driver to earn a living, but could not afford an eye exam or glasses to ensure he can see well enough to keep driving. Thanks to optometrist Dr. Jeffrey Shrock, Rivera is back on the road (literally) with new bifocals, and knows he will need regular eye exams because prediabetes puts people at higher risk for vision problems.
Kaiser Permanente Vision Essentials held three free vision clinics in Vancouver and Longview around the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, as well as three more in Portland, Clackamas, Ore., and Salem, Ore., and was able to offer 162 patients free eye exams and glasses and prescriptions if needed. Rivera was referred to the MLK Day vision clinic by Battle Ground Health Care.
Shrock, who has been offering eye exams as part of Kaiser Permanente’s MLK Days of Service for 15 years, said, “Anytime we give back to people in our community it’s very meaningful and gives my job even more purpose.”
