The Culmore Clinic now offers vision care

For the first time in its 16-year history, the Culmore Clinic is offering its patients on-site eye exams and vision care – thanks to generous donations from the community.

The clinic is housed at First Christian Church at 6165 Leesburg Pike in Seven Corners. It provides free, basic health services, counseling, and referrals to uninsured adults in Culmore, Bailey’s Crossroads, and Seven Corners.

The new vision suite will welcome its first patients on Nov. 16.

Ophthalmologists Dr. George Patterson and Dr. Sarah Merrill and optometrist Dr. Bill Baer had approached the Culmore Clinic leadership with an idea; they said they would volunteer to provide vision care if the clinic could come up with the equipment and materials.

That sparked a fundraising drive, and at the clinic’s open house in October, there was a ribbon-cutting for the new vision suite.

“A vision suite is something that free and charitable clinics like ours only dream of,” said Executive Director Lynette Sappe-Watkins at the open house.

Sappe-Watkins thanked the organizations, businesses, and individuals who made it happen: the Bailey’s Crossroads Lions Club, the Falls Church/Annandale Lions Club, Caren Forsten of the Prevention of Blindness Society of Metropolitan Washington, Don Johnson of Capital Vision Services, Davida Luehrs of the Foundation Fighting Blindness, Ashley Larson of Capital Vision Services, the Lions Vision International Eye Foundation, Ed “Woody” Woodard of the Virginia Lions Eye Institute Foundation, and Dr. Hannah Yecheskel.