STORY BY MARY SIMMS

PHOTO BY KAREN BOSSICK

The Senior Connection Vision & Hearing Center, which had a soft opening this past summer, has officially opened in Ketchum. The clinic is located at 220 Second Avenue South (South and River Streets) in Suite 101.

The Senior Connection Vision & Hearing Center has been made possible through generous and compassionate donors with a goal to improve the quality of life for all older adults in need of vision and hearing services.

The Vision & Hearing screenings will be offered at no cost, but the Senior Connection will welcome a voluntary donation for the service. Those with a known diagnosis of retinal disease  can be treated as a patient with insurance or no insurance.

The Senior Connection has established partnerships with Board Certified Retinal Specialists Jennifer Olbum, DO & Jeffery Stevens, MD through Welch, Allan, & Associates in Twin Falls and with Hearing Specialist Greg Schroeder. 

These associations enabled the Senior Connection to establish the Vision & Hearing Center to provide essential services that are, until now have not been available in our valley.

Preserving sight and augmenting hearing are critical for quality of life. Many of our seniors risk losing vision due to difficulty getting diagnosed and treated for eye disease, including age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, and glaucoma.

These three diseases are the most common causes of permanent vision loss in our country and are treatable if caught early. Low-income seniors are frequently unable to travel to Boise or Salt Lake City for periodic evaluation and treatment, which may be required as often as monthly. Our substantial and essential Hispanic population has a high incidence of diabetes and subsequent diabetic retinopathy, which requires annual evaluation for diagnosis and treatment when progressive.

The Senior Connection has also partnered with a hearing specialist/consultant to provide free hearing screening and fitting of donated hearing aids at little or no expense to those unable to afford them. 

Vision Services: Screenings for retinal diseases and glaucoma. Treatment on site is available for retinal disease and referral arrangements will be made for other vision conditions identified at screening. Those patients already diagnosed with age-related macular degeneration or diabetic retinopathy will be able to monitor their condition and obtain treatment here in Ketchum for the first time.

Hearing Services: Free self-administered hearing screenings to determine the extent of age-related hearing loss (mild, moderate, severe). For those with a screening score that suggests a hearing loss, a limited audiogram screening will be performed. Referrals for thorough hearing exam with hearing specialist or an otolaryngologist will be made as needed.

Screenings will be offered three days per week and can be arranged by visiting the Senior Connection website at https://seniorconnectionidaho.org/vision-hearing-center/  to register. The doctors will be available one day a week by appointment.