ALEXANDRIA, Va.—Think About Your Eyes, the national public awareness campaign about the importance of scheduling an annual eye exam with an optometrist, has announced the addition of the California, Delaware, and Massachusetts state optometric associations to the current group of leadership states. These three states bring the total number of state associations supporting the campaign to 44. Each supporting state association provides its members a free listing on the doctor locator at ThinkAboutYourEyes.com. The addition of the California, Delaware, and Massachusetts membership to the locator increases locator offerings to 22,000 listings, increasing the likelihood that a patient using the locator will find an optometrist in their area through Think About Your Eyes.

A 2017 survey of 2,000 patients of Think About Your Eyes doctors showed that patients see value in the Think About Your Eyes campaign. Forty-eight percent of patients said they had a more favorable impression of their optometrist when they learned of their involvement with the campaign.

“Think About Your Eyes would not be possible without support of the leadership states,” said Dr. Steve Loomis, chair of Think About Your Eyes. “By providing optometrists with a listing, they are not only bringing patients into offices, but ensuring the future of the campaign.”

Think About Your Eyes TV, radio, and online ads are running through September, capitalizing on the back-to-school timeframe. Campaign ads and Facebook posts encourage patients to visit the Think About Your Eyes website to find an eye doctor. More than 1.5 million people have visited the website in 2018, an increase of more than 200 percent over this time last year.

Those interested in supporting the campaign, can contact Laurel O’Connor, senior communications manager, at loconnor@thinkaboutyoureyes.com

Think About Your Eyes is a national public awareness initiative in partnership with the American Optometric Association, focused on educating consumers about the importance of vision health and annual comprehensive eye exams. Current partners include 44 state optometric associations, Alcon, The Vision Council, All About Vision, GUNNAR Optiks, Jobson Optical Group, National Vision, Inc. (NVI), SpecialEyes, Hilco Vision, Walman Optical, Transitions, Shamir, Essilor, Luxottica Group, Eschenbach, Johnson & Johnson Vision, First Vision Media Group, Vision Expo, Optolec, Compliancy Group, and Westgroupe.