PHILADELPHIA—Prevent Blindness, the leading volunteer eye health and safety organization in the U.S., oversaw the administration of vision-screening training and certification at a professional development meeting for Philadelphia school nurses held here Friday.

The professional development meeting was hosted by the Philadelphia Eagles Charitable Foundation and was held at Lincoln Financial Field, home of the NFL’s Eagles. It was the seventh annual professional development meeting the foundation has hosted for Philadelphia school nurses, according to a statement about the event.

According to the statement, studies indicate that about one in four school-aged children have a vision problem that requires treatment and that 70 percent of public school students who fail their state-mandated eye screenings do not receive the necessary follow-up care. In Pennsylvania, it is mandatory that every student receives a vision screening each year.

However, individuals conducting the screenings do not have to be certified, the statement noted. This can lead to poor uniformity in screening procedures and monitoring student vision health.

The Eagles Charitable Foundation expected 260 nurses from Philadelphia to participate in the training and to receive certification to administer vision screenings. The nurses rotated as a group through various skills assessment sessions and received extensive, in-depth training to certify them as vision screeners, according to the statement. Upon completion of both an online educational module and an in-person skill assessment, each nurse received a national vision screening certification that is valid for three years.

The event was sponsored by the Independence Blue Cross Foundation.