InfantSEE® in Your Practice

Simple Ways to Reach 2007 Goals in Your Practice

In 2006, we encouraged InfantSEE® providers to perform at least one InfantSEE® assessment per month.  This year we're asking providers to double that number—which means seeing two infants per month. This goal can be easily met with minor adjustments to the marketing and promotion you already do in your office.  Below is a listing of the materials available—free-of-charge—to InfantSEE® providers with some tips on ways to implement them.  The InfantSEE® program is fortunate to have among its ranks very creative, out-of-the-box thinkers who have given us these suggestions.  These tips are by no means exhaustive—simply use them as a starting place. E-mail infantsee@aoa.org with the "tricks of the trade" you implement in your practice and community, so we can share them with other providers.

Windows to the World DVD- a 4-minute program that introduces the program and importance of early eye and vision care for infants.  This DVD is an excellent resource to show in your waiting room, at local health fairs and other "mommy" group presentations, and for introducing infant eye assessments to other health care providers.

InfantSEE® Bracelets- This is a great word-of-mouth tool and can be purchased from the InfantSEE® Web site. You can provide them to your staff and doctors to wear in the office, give them to parents and siblings to wear after the InfantSEE® assessment, or pass them out in your community.  Washington state ODs included a bracelet in a mailing to all of their state legislators as a form of introduction to the program. Note: After clicking the above link, you must use your AOA member ID and password to enter this area.

InfantSEE® Web site- www.infantsee.org.  This site is home to a wealth of information for the public, media and providers alike.  Doctors and staff are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the resources in the Doctor's Center.  There you'll find downloadable resources, program explanations, and other information to support your participation. Visit the site often as materials are always being added to the site for your use.

Posters- This downloadable resource is a great, visual way to promote InfantSEE® in your office, in other health care provider offices and at community events. The files found on the InfantSEE® Web site can be downloaded and sent to a local print shop (such as Kinko's) and reproduced.

Press releases- A press release is a uniform way of informing the local media about a newsworthy story.  You are welcome to modify the news releases found on the Media Center portion of the Web site to send to your local media.  Remember, reporters respond best to stories that can be "shown" as well as "told." The Georgia Optometric Association created an excellent example, which could be modified for your own practice or local society.  Go here to view.

Community PowerPoint- This resource makes spreading the word about the program to various audiences simple.  The 12 slide presentation covers a program overview, statistics, and what parents can expect during an assessment.

Brochures- General information about InfantSEE® and the importance of regular, early eye care for infants is discussed in this resource.  They are available in English and Spanish in quantities of 50.  They are eye catching and can be a great conversation starter.  Doctors place their contact information on them and make them available to other health care providers and agencies that interact with families with young children as a referral tool. Email us to request some brochures for your practice.