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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
September 30, 2025
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MEDIA CONTACTS:
Dan Tierney: 614-644-0957
Lauren Niner: 614-644-0957
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Governor DeWine Tours Reynoldsburg School-Based Health and Vision Center and Promotes OhioSEE
 (COLUMBUS, Ohio)—Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and Ohio Department of Health (ODH) Director Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff, MD, MBA, toured the Reynoldsburg High School's Livingston Campus school-based health and vision center today.
"What Reynoldsburg City Schools has accomplished here is really phenomenal," said Governor DeWine. "Students here are able to get not only the primary care they need but also essential vision services, like eye exams and glasses fittings, so they don't miss valuable classroom time. That's exactly what we are going to do with OhioSEE."
Nationwide Children’s has seen more than 4,000 patients for primary care in the school-based health center since providing services beginning in 2020.
With funding from ODH, Nationwide Children’s opened two new vision centers in Franklin County in 2023--one in the Reynoldsburg High School's Livingston Campus school-based health center and one in the Ft. Hayes Metro Education Center. Since then, Nationwide has provided more than 1,100 vision service visits and 1,000 unique patients have received care.
To help more Ohio students receive the vision care they need, Governor DeWine announced a new children's eyesight program, OhioSEE, as part of his executive budget proposal that was passed by the Ohio Legislature.
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OhioSEE will provide free, comprehensive vision services to kindergarten through third grade students in 15 high-need counties. ODH identified the counties with the greatest need where more than 80% of children who require additional, comprehensive vision care after a vision screening do not receive it. By providing vision services in schools, OhioSEE removes barriers to providing this essential eye care to students during a time when learning to read is critical.
ODH estimates that OhioSEE will serve 14,000 students per year, and vision services will be available in schools beginning in early 2026.
A request for proposals was sent earlier this month to collect applications for qualified vision service providers to implement OhioSEE. The window to apply is open through Friday, October 3.
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