Back-to-school event includes free eye exams and glasses
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 1 month, 2 weeks AGO
Six-year-old Aria Lagunas of Moses Lake has her vision checked by Gene Lamm at the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Columbia Basin back-to-school event Monday.
JOEL MARTIN/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD
Meagan Rakoci-McDonald (left) and Kate Mundell of Coordinated Care watch over a display of eyeglasses frames at the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Columbia Basin back-to-school event Monday. The frames, and the prescription lenses to go in them, were free to anyone who needed them.
Coordinated Care CEO Beth Johnson stands in the tent outside the Boys & Girls Club’s McGraw Clubhouse. Coordinated Care was at the club’s back-to-school event offering free dental and vision screening.
Joel Martin has been with the Columbia Basin Herald for more than 25 years in a variety of roles and is the most-tenured employee in the building. Martin is a married father of eight and enjoys spending time with his children and his wife, Christina. He is passionate about the paper’s mission of informing the people of the Columbia Basin because he knows it is important to record the history of the communities the publication serves. | August 28, 2026 3:10 AM
MOSES LAKE — When the new school year starts, some Moses Lake children will be able to see the front of the classroom a little more clearly, after a free event Monday.
“Anyone in the community can get vision screening; if they need it, they can get prescription eyeglasses mailed to them at home,” said Coordinated Care CEO Beth Johnson.
Coordinated Care was in Moses Lake Monday as part of the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Columbia Basin’s back to school event, which also included school supply giveaways, french fries from Simplot and a community barbecue hosted by Group14, according to a social media post from the club. Coordinated Care had a room set up where visitors could get their eyes tested by an optometrist, then go to a table and pick out a set of frames. There was no charge for testing or glasses, and no age limit; both children and adults were welcome.
“People get screened, and if they have glasses, we can decide whether they still have the same prescription or not,” said Coordinated Care Senior Manager of Privider Relations Meagan Rakoci-McDonald, who was staffing the frame table with Senior Director of Network Management Kate Mundell. “We have an optometrist here who can do a more thorough screening if we need to go a bit deeper. They pick out frames and then (the glasses) are built and mailed to them.”
Anyone who needed nonprescription reading glasses could take some home on the spot, Rakoci-McDonald said. Prescription glasses took about a month to make.
“People are very excited about getting to walk out of here … knowing that glasses are coming in the mail,” she said. “Especially if they’ve suffered through not having the best glasses for a while, or no glasses at all.”
Besides the vision testing, Coordinated Care had a dental van offering free exams and referrals.
Coordinated Care, based in Tacoma, is an insurance company that serves patients on Medicaid and Medicare and in foster care, Johnson said. Moses Lake was one stop on a tour across Washington that would also include Mattawa, Yakima and Spokane, Johnson said. About 200 people had come through Monday afternoon, Johnson said.
“Not everyone can afford eyeglasses, or even know that they need eyeglasses,” she said. “So, we have a great opportunity as kids are starting school, to get them set for a successful school year.”
Meagan Rakoci-McDonald (left) and Kate Mundell of Coordinated Care watch over a display of eyeglasses frames at the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Columbia Basin back-to-school event Monday. The frames, and the prescription lenses to go in them, were free to anyone who needed them.
Coordinated Care CEO Beth Johnson stands in the tent outside the Boys & Girls Club’s McGraw Clubhouse. Coordinated Care was at the club’s back-to-school event offering free dental and vision screening.ARTICLES BY JOEL MARTIN
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