Regional Ophthalmology Links

Community Services for the Blind and Partially Sighted
CSBPS was formed in Seattle in 1965 by the merger of three existing groups. It is the only private, comprehensive rehabilitation agency for visually-impaired persons of all ages in King, Snohomish, and Skagit counties. Some programs and services are unduplicated anywhere in the state of Washington. CSBPS is commited to helping visually-impaired persons remain independent by providing programs, services, and information that make the world more accessible.


National and International Ophthalmology Links

American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO)
The official organization of ophthalmologists in this country. Includes lots of patient information, as well as the journal, Ophthalmology.

American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus (AAPOS)
The mission of AAPOS is to provide ethical leadership in the delivery of and access to comprehensive quality medical and surgical eye care for children and for adults with strabismus. This will be accomplished through education and professional development of its members, other physicians and associated health care professionals, and through research. Founded in 1974, the AAPOS celebrates their 25th anniversary in 1999.

American Board of Ophthalmology (ABO)
The official accrediting board for ophthalmologists. They explain the purpose and importance of board certification.

American Council of the Blind
The American Council of the Blind is the nation's leading membership organization of blind and visually impaired people. It was founded in 1961 and incorporated in the District of Columbia. The Council serves as a representative national organization of blind people; elevates the social, economic and cultural levels of blind people; improves educational and rehabilitation facilities and opportunities; cooperates with the public and private institutions and organizations concerned with blind services; encourages and assists all blind persons to develop their abilities; and conducts a public education program to promote greater understanding of blindness and the capabilities of blind people.

American Foundation for the Blind (AFB)
A nonprofit organization founded in 1921 and recognized as Helen Keller's cause in the United States. The AFB is a leading national resource for people who are blind or visually impaired, the organizations that serve them, and the general public. The mission of the AFB is to enable people who are blind or visually impaired to achieve equality of access and opportunity that will ensure freedom of choice in their lives. The Helen Keller Archival Collection contains her personal papers and memorabilia that she bequeathed to the AFB's national headquarters in New York City. This archive is not only a unique collection of material about an extraordinary woman, but an extremely important American historical asset.

American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS)
The ASCRS mission is to raise the standards and skills of anterior segment surgeons through clinical and practice management education and to work with patients, government, and the medical community to promote delivery of quality eye care.

American Society of Ophthalmic Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery (ASOPRS)
The ASOPRS was founded in 1969 to establish a qualified body of surgeons who have training and experience in this highly specialized field. The purpose of the Society is "to advance education, research, and the quality of clinical practice in the fields of plastic and reconstructive surgery involving the eyelids, orbits, and lacrimal system."

Association for Research in Vision & Ophthalmology (ARVO)
Its mission is "to encourage and assist research, training, publication, and dissemination of knowledge in vision and ophthalmology." The Association's membership is multidisciplinary and consists of both clinical and basic researchers. In 1986, ARVO established its first permanent Central Office located on the campus of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB), in Bethesda, Md.

Color & Vision Research Laboratories
This Web page provides an annotated library of standard data sets, which are relevant to color and vision research and which can be easily downloaded.

Contact Lens Association of America (CLAO)
Dedicated for the training and research of contact lens use. Includes their journal, named appropriately enough,CLAO Journal.

Eye Bank Association of America (EBAA)
Established in 1961 by the American Academy of Ophthalmology's Committee on Eye Banks, the EBAA is a non-profit organization of eye banks dedicated to the restoration of sight through the promotion and advancement of eye banking.

The Eye Patch Club
For families coping with a child's amblyopia treatment, sponsored by Prevent Blindness America.

The Foundation Fighting Blindness
A national eye research organization that funds laboratory and clinical research at over 40 prominent institutions in the United States and foreign countries. It serves as a source of information for eye care specialists, professionals, and affected families. Research is dedicated to finding cures and treatments for all retinal degenerations, including retinitis pigmentosa, Usher syndrome, macular degeneration, and other rare disease forms.

Glaucoma Research Foundation
The Foundation is a national, non-profit organization dedicated to killing glaucoma. They receive no government funding and welcome contributions. They have the latest information about glaucoma and research updates, including the landmark results of the Collaborative Normal Tension Glaucoma Study.

Helen Keller International (HKI)
Preventing blindness, restoring sight, and rehabilitating the blind, HKl works around the world to benefit humankind, assisting organizations and institutions in countries where the need is great to protect the eyesight of children within their borders and provide quality eye care to their people.

International Society for Eye Research (ISER)

International Society of Refractive Surgery (ISRS)
ISRS is an international organization of eye care professionals committed to providing scientific research, knowledge, and information to all individuals who are interested in refractive surgery. The ISRS is dedicated to the dissemination of the most current information about the variety of surgical refractive procedures available as well as a comprehensive directory of surgeons currently performing refractive surgery.

Knights Templar Eye Foundation, Inc.
The Knights Template Eye Foundation, Inc., is a charitable foundation founded in 1956 to aid those who need help in the preservation of sight. The Foundation does not have doctors or ophthalmologists as employees of the Foundation, but several prominent Doctors, Ophthalmologists, and Researchers serve as Advisors and give of their time, knowledge, and experience without compensation. Their mission is to provide assistance to those who face loss of sight due to the need for surgical treatment without regard to race, color, creed, age, sex, or national origin provided they are unable to pay or receive adequate assistance from current government agencies or similar sources, and to provide funds for research in curing diseases of the eye.

Lighthouse International
Lighthouse International is a leading resource worldwide on vision impairment and vision rehabilitation. Through its pioneering work in vision rehabilitation services, education, research and advocacy, Lighthouse International enables people of all ages who are blind or partially sighted to lead independent and productive lives. Founded in 1905 and headquartered in New York, Lighthouse International is a not-for-profit organization and depends on the support and generosity of individuals, foundations, and corporations.

LOVNET: the LOW VISION network
LOVNET is the world-wide-web interface for the Low Vision Research Group (LVRG), providing an Internet resource for researchers, clinicians, and others with an interest in low vision. Here you can learn about recent and ongoing research in low vision, and find links to FAQs, support groups, discussion groups, and other resources for the low-vision community.

Macular Degeneration Foundation
The Macular Degeneration Foundation is a charitable education and research foundation dedicated to: discovering the cause and developing cures for macular degeneration, and promoting the development of improved vision enhancement and rehabilitation aids together with providing training and support in their use to needy individuals, libraries, non-profit organizations, elder care, and other community centers.

National Alliance for Eye and Vision Research (NAEVR)
The NAEVR is a non-profit advocacy organization made up of a coalition of professional, consumer, and industry organizations involved in research in eye and vision disorders. NAEVR's ultimate goal is to achieve the best vision for all Americans through advocacy and public information for eye and vision research supported by the National Institutes of Health, the National Eye Institute, and other Federal research entities.

National Eye Care Project (NECP)
The NECP is a nationwide outreach program, sponsored by the American Academy of Ophthalmology, designed to provide medical and surgical eye care to our nation's disadvantaged senior citizens.

National Eye Institute (NEI)
One of the components that constitute the Federal government's National Institutes of Health, NEI supports more than 80 percent of the vision research conducted in the United States at approximately 250 medical centers, hospitals, universities, and other institutions.

National Eye Health Education Program (NEHEP)
Through the NEHEP, the National Eye Institute conducts large-scale public and professional education programs in partnership with national organizations. Here you will find information about the NEHEP's programs and free materials.

National Federation of the Blind
The purpose of the NFB is two-fold: to help blind persons achieve self-confidence and self-respect and to act as a vehicle for collective self-expression by the blind. By providing public education about blindness, information and referral services, scholarships, literature and publications about blindness, aids and appliances and other adaptive equipment for the blind, advocacy services and protection of Civil Rights, Job Opportunities for the Blind, development and evaluation of technology and support for blind persons and their families, members of the NFB strive to educate the public that the blind are normal individuals who can compete on terms of equality.

National Science Foundation (NSF)
Celebrating 50 years, the NSF is an independent U.S. government agency responsible for promoting science and engineering through programs that invest over $3.3 billion per year in almost 20,000 research and education projects in science and engineering. "By the National Science Foundation Act of 1950 the Congress established the NSF to promote the progress of science; to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare; to secure the national defense; and for other purposes.' The President approved the act on May 10, 1950."

The Ophthalmic Research Network
Moorfields' Eye Hospital in London, U.K., recently launched this new website that is intended as a resource for all ophthalmologists and allied professions. You are welcome to post information on it.

Ophthalmology Societies and Associations
A general listing of worldwide eye associations, including those mentioned on this page.

Prevent Blindness America
This website contains a wealth of information, with links to topics ranging from general eye problems for people of all ages, eye safety, news releases, and much more. Celebrating its 90th anniversary in 1998, Prevent Blindness America is the nation's leading volunteer eye health and safety organization dedicated to fighting blindness and saving sight. Together with a network of affiliates, divisions and chapters, it is committed to eliminating preventable blindness in America. Fight For Sight, Inc., was founded in 1946 for the primary purpose of encouraging and financing research in ophthalmology, vision and related sciences.

Research to Prevent Blindness, Incorporated
RPB is the world's leading voluntary organization in support of eye research. At 56 medical institutions nationwide, RPB is supporting investigations into all blinding eye diseases, including macular degeneration, cataract, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, corneal disease, retinitis pigmtosa, amblyopia, strabismus, and uveitis. The Department of Ophthalmology is supported in part by a generous award from Research to Prevent Blindness, Inc.

Vision Science
An internet resource for research in human and animal vision.

The Vitreous Society Online
The Vitreous Society was created in 1983 to promote the exchange of scientific information and new ideas among doctors specializing in diseases of the retina and vitreous. It has grown into the largest organization of its kind in the world. Its more than 1000 active members, representing 30 countries, are active participants in the annual scientific and social programs. Their goal is to help fulfill the Society's mission of interaction among colleagues.

Other Regional and National Medical Sites

American Medical Association (AMA)
A partnership of physicians and their professional associations dedicated to promoting the art and science of medicine and the betterment of public health.

Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC)
The mission of the AAMC is to improve the health of the public by enhancing the effectiveness of academic medicine. The AAMC pursues its mission by assisting academic medicine's institutions, organizations and individuals in carrying out their responsibilities for: educating the physician and medical scientist workforce; discovering new medical knowledge; developing innovative technologies for prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease; and providing health care services in academic settings.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
The mission of the CDC is to promote health and quality of life by preventing and controlling disease, injury, and disability.

King County Medical Society, Seattle, Wash.
Serving King County since 1888, with over 4,200 Physician and Surgeon Members.

National Library of Medicine
Every significant program of the Library is represented, from medical history to biotechnology. Their hope is that the resources of the world's largest biomedical library will find ever wider useful application around the nation and around the world.

New England Journal of Medicine Online

National Institutes of Health (NIH)
The NIH mission is to uncover new knowledge that will lead to better health for everyone. NIH works toward that mission by: conducting research in its own laboratories; supporting the research of non-Federal scientists in universities, medical schools, hospitals, and research institutions throughout the country and abroad; helping in the training of research investigators; and fostering communication of biomedical information. The NIH is one of eight health agencies of the Public Health Service which, in turn, is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Comprised of 24 separate Institutes, Centers, and Divisons, NIH has 75 buildings on more than 300 acres in Bethesda, Md.

Washington State Medical Association (WSMA)
The object of the WSMA shall be to promote the art and science of medicine, to protect and improve the health of the public, and to serve and provide leadership for the membership of this Association, allied health professionals, and the public.