Midwestern University received a $100,000 grant from the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust, which will be directed to the Arizona College of Optometry’s Vision Medical Assistance Program.

The grant, awarded from the Trust’s “Helping People in Need” focus area, will help provide low-income individuals with examinations, treatments, and vision correction at the Midwestern University Eye Institute, 5865 W. Utopia Road, Glendale.

Under the Vision Medical Assistance Program, Arizona College of Optometry faculty and students will perform a complete ocular examination and will provide eyeglasses, single vision, bifocal, trifocal, progressive, or contact lenses dependent upon need. Patients will be treated and taught how to manage identified chronic eye problems and will receive necessary therapy for debilitated vision-related conditions.

In addition to providing essential vision services to the underserved, the program will also enhance optometry student clinical training and education at the Eye Institute.

“The Vision Medical Assistance Program’s goal aligns with the university’s mission to serve the needs of society by developing tomorrow’s healthcare team, involving ourselves in the community, and fostering partnerships that invest in the growth and development of our state,” Midwestern president and chief executive officer Kathleen H. Goeppinger stated in a news release. “We are deeply grateful to the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust for their generosity and faith in our community healthcare programs.”

The Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust is named for Nina Mason Pulliam (1906-1997), a journalist, a business leader and humanitarian. The Trust has granted over $335 million in Arizona and Indiana since its inception in 1998.

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