Midwest Eye Care and its doctors are active in numerous formal and informal charity programs, including the following:

• Mission Cataract USA: Since 1995, Midwest Eye Care has participated in the annual Mission Cataract USA, a national program that provides free cataract to persons with limited financial resources. During this time, Midwest Eye Care has provided free surgery to over 80 patients, representing over $250,000 of donated services. This program at Midwest Eye Care has grown significantly in the past decade, and in 2005 over twenty individuals received free surgery.
  
  The program is open to individuals who do not have insurance coverage through Medicare, Medicaid or a private insurer. In mid-March each year, Midwest Eye Care will announce that it will begin screening applicants to determine if they meet the medical and financial guidelines for the program. If so, the applicant is scheduled for a free exam with Dr. Scott Greder and Dr. Mark Emig on a dedicated screening day in April. Several days after the screening exams are completed, the applicants selected for free surgery are notified.
  
  If you are aware of someone who might qualify for Mission Cataract, you may call Midwest Eye Care at any time throughout the year and ask to be placed on the Mission Cataract contact list. Individuals outside the immediate Omaha/Council Bluffs service area should contact the national Mission Cataract office at 800-343-7265 for providers in their area.
  
  
• Prevent Blindness Nebraska: Midwest Eye Care doctors and staff, along with other local eye care providers, assist in the semi-annual Operation Eyeglasses program coordinated by Prevent Blindness Nebraska. During Operation Eyeglasses, homeless and low-income individuals are given free eye examinations and, when necessary, fitted for free eyeglasses. Contact Prevent Blindness at 402-572-3520 or visit their website at www.preventblindness.org/ne for more information.
  
  
• See to Learn: The goal of See to Learn, a program coordinated by the Nebraska Optometric Association, is that every young child has the vision necessary to begin learning. Optometrists participating in the See to Learn program, including MEC's Dr. Teri Geist and Dr. Scott Greder, provide free eye exams to three year-old children throughout Nebraska. You can obtain more information on the See to Learn program by calling 800-960-3937 or visiting www.seetolearn.com.
  
  
• One World Community Health Center: The One World Community Health Center, a non-profit health care organization supported by local and national grants and donations, provides health care services primarily at its new facilities at the Livestock Exchange Building in South Omaha. Drs. Pete Whitted, Kathy Hodges, Mark Emig and Courtney Hellman alternate providing monthly ophthalmology clinics at the One World clinic. You can obtain more information about the One World center by calling 402-734-4110 or visiting www.oneworldomaha.org.
  
  
• Hope Medical Outreach Coalition: The Hope Medical Outreach Coalition is an indigent care referral program supported by the Metro Omaha Medical Society and local hospitals. After a patient is referred from a community health clinic to Hope Medical, a social worker will assist in coordinating free medical care. The Coalition can be contacted by calling 402-354-6374, but the Coalition's website at www.hopemed.us is an excellent first resource.
  
  
• National Eye Care Project: The American Academy of Ophthalmology coordinates the National Eye Care Project, which matches Medicare recipients with ophthalmologists who will provide a comprehensive exam for what Medicare pays for the exam. The patient is not responsible for any co-payment due after Medicare pays their portion. More information on the National Eye Care Project is available by calling 800-222-3937.