BONNERS FERRY — The Bonners Ferry Lions Club District No. 7798 will be sponsoring a visit by the Lions Health Screening Unit for the purpose of providing vision and hearing tests for Boundary County School District’s elementary students.

Grade school students in kindergarten through fifth grade at Naples, Valley View and Mount Hall elementary schools will be screened for vision and hearing. Mt. Hall will be visited on April 10 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; next in line is Valley View on April 11 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; finally, students at Naples School will be screened on April 12 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Begun in 1997 by the Northwest Lions Foundation, the Lions Health Screening Unit travels throughout Washington State and Northern Idaho to provide free health screenings.

The specially-equipped unit is staffed by volunteers (usually Lions) and health professionals.

The Foundation’s goal is to speed early detection of health problems through screenings so corrective assessment and intervention steps can be taken immediately.

According to the Foundation, the following are reasons for screening children for vision problems: vision disorders are the most prevalent handicapping condition in childhood; vision problems affect nearly 13.5 million children nationwide; early childhood is the most critical period of development for the vision system.

When a child reaches the age of nine or ten years, the vision system is developed, and early screening helps prevent blindness and permanent impairment from most eye diseases; eighty percent of all we learn in the first twelve years of life comes from vision.

Any Lions Club in MD19 can sponsor a visit from the LHSU as long as they provide volunteers who will be trained to conduct the screenings.

Aside from a staff member who travels with the unit, the program relies on Lions, nurses, paramedics, and other volunteers. Many clubs are able to provide volunteers or are available as a resource for those needing further assistance with eyeglasses or hearing aids.

The LHSU is available to provide sight and hearing screenings to more than 100 students per hour at any Washington State or Northern Idaho school.

For more information regarding the school screening, please contact Vic White at 208-267-3608, or your child’s elementary school office.