Mr. Chairman, Dr. Genensky himself is severely partially sighted and he has been so since someone in the hospital in which he was born mistakenly put potassium or sodium hydroxide in his eyes, thinking it was silver nitrate. More than 70 percent of the legally blind see better than does he. Yet he has always been a sight-oriented person. With the help of a pair of binoculars, but without the use of a cane, guide dog, braille readers or any other visual substitution or technique, Dr. Genensky earned a Bachelor's Degree in physics from Brown University, a Master's Degree in mathematics from Harvard and a Ph.D. in applied mathematics from Brown. He was a research mathematician on the staff of the Rand Corporation in Santa Monica from 1958 to 1978. He is the Executive Director for the Center for the Partially Sighted in Santa Monica, which he and his colleagues founded during the period of 1976 to 1978. He has written numerous professional papers and received several awards for his work on behalf of the partially sighted. Mr. Chairman, it is for me a special privilege and honor to bring Dr. Genensky to your subcommittee. His work and he himself received the highest degree of praise from bipartisan political leaders in California as well as from a cross-section of citizens throughout the state and the country. It is with a great deal of pleasure that I bring him to you and your subcommittee and introduce Dr. Samuel Genensky. Mr. DWYER. Dr. Genensky. Mr. GENENSKY. Thank you very much, Congressman Levine, and thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate this opportunity appearing before your committee to speak in favor of a national information and referral center for the partially sighted. To some extent, Congressman Levine has already started to make a very good case here, and I shan't repeat what he has covered. I shall start at the following point, namely, that the Center for the Partially Sighted and other facilities that provide comprehensive care for partially sighted people, as well as clinics that provide low-vision care, have found that partially sighted people, whether they are legally blind or not, with few exceptions, if they are provided with the appropriate low-vision visual aids, if they are thoroughly trained in the use of those aids and if they have the will to utilize them, can perform such sight-intense tasks as reading ordinary ink-printed material, writing with a pen or pencil, moving around alone in even unfamiliar places without the help of a guide dog, cane or fully sighted person-yes, even viewing a chalkboard and taking notes on what is seen on that chalkboard. All that these people need to do this, as I have pointed out, are the appropriate visual aids, thorough training in the use of them and the will to utilize them. Although they are still few in number, there are ophthalmologists and optometrists who are trained in low-vision visual care and who include that care as part of their practice of ophthalmology or optometry. There are low-vision clinics staffed by these fine doctors and there are a handful of comprehensive visual rehabilitation centers that provide, in addition to low-vision care, a wide variety of other services that are needed by partially sighted people. Unfortunately, partially sighted people rarely know of the existence of these services, nor of their whereabouts. The national information and referral center that we would like to see brought into being would collect, update and evaluate information concerning persons and organizations that provide visual, emotional, educational, recreational, rehabilitative and/or financial services that are urgently needed by partially sighted people. This information would be disseminated to the partially sighted, to those that serve that population and to the general public by the National Center via publications of the center, as well as through local and national print and electronic media. Persons reached by these publications and by that media would be urged to contact the National Center to obtain additional information and to obtain referrals. That additional information would be provided by the center and referrals would be made to sources of assistance that are as close as possible to the persons who would benefit from those services. My colleagues and I at the Center for the Partially Sighted estimate that the first year cost of the National Center in 1988 dollars would be approximately $600,000, and Congressman Levine and I are urging you to fund such a center for a period of at least five years. Additional information on the cost of operating the center in its first year is contained in Appendix B of our written testimony. Thank you very much for this opportunity to appear before your distinguished committee and to speak in favor of a national information and referral center for the partially sighted. Thank you very much. Mr. DWYER. Thank you, Dr. Genensky, and thank you, Congressman, very kindly. Mr. LEVINE. Mr. Chairman, thank you very much. [The information follows:] Testimony Presented to The Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education of the U. S. House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations on April 28, 1988 by Meldon E. Levine Congressman, 27th District California and Samuel M. Genensky, Ph. D. Executive Director The Center for the Partially Sighted Santa Monica, California TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE Testimony in Support of the Creation of a National Information and Referral Center for the Partially Sighted We come before you today to argue in favor of the creation of a National Information and Referral Center for the Partially Sighted.* Such a Center is needed for the following reasons: (1) There are more than two million Americans who are partially sighted, (2) One-fifth of these people are also legally blind. (3) Those who are legally blind make up more than (4) All too frequently partially sighted people tend to receive (a) services that are at best suitable for the totally blind, or (b) no services at all. (5) The former alternative (4)(a) is tragic for to use their remaining eyesight, together with * For additional information concerning the partially sighted and other subdivisions and characteristics of the visually impaired population, the reader is referred to Appendix A to this testimony. |