Category: About Midwest Low Vision

W. Jarrod Long, OD, FIALVS

Dr. Jarrod Long is the owner and founder of Midwest Low Vision. He has been serving patients since 1997. In addition to his role at our practice, Dr. Long has been a Fellow in the International Academy of Low Vision Specialists since 2006. He is currently a candidate for Fellowship in the American Academy of Optometry and will pursue the distinguished Low Vision Diplomate Status.

Before establishing our practice, Dr. Long completed a one-year Ocular Disease Residency at the SUNY Optometry-affiliated, FDR VA Hospital in Montrose, New York. He also earned a Comprehensive Clinical Low Vision Care Certification from The Lighthouse Incorporated in New York, New York, in 1997. From 1997 to 2000, he was part-time Clinical Faculty and a Low Vision Case Consultant at the Indiana University School of Optometry.

Holly Hart, ABOC

Holly Hart, our Lead Low Vision Technician, joined our team in 2021. She is American Board of Opticianry Certified since 2022. Holly brings a unique perspective to our team as she is a low vision patient herself, diagnosed with Stargardt Macular Degeneration. This personal experience gives her a deep understanding of the challenges our patients face, making her an invaluable member of our team.

Prior to joining us, from 2006 to 2021, Holly held various roles in eye care offices, ranging from technician to leadership and management positions. She is also an Indiana-licensed Bioptic Telescopic Driver, as well as a Bioptic Glasses Trainer. In addition to her professional accomplishments, Holly is an active volunteer with the Foundation Fighting Blindness.

Casey Beckman, ABOC

Casey Beckman is our Office Manager at Long Family Eye Care and Midwest Low Vision, a position she has held since 2021. Casey graduated from the IU School of Optometry in 2008, where she served as Class President. She has been American Board of Opticianry Certified since 2008.

Before assuming her current role as Office Manager, Casey was our Lead Low Vision Technician from 2008 to 2021. Her experience, skills, and dedication to patient care make her an essential part of our team.

Our team at Midwest Low Vision is passionate about helping our patients achieve the best possible vision and quality of life. With our combined expertise and commitment, we are confident in our ability to provide exceptional care to all our patients.

We specialize in providing comprehensive and personalized care for patients with unmet functional vision needs. We understand the challenges that come with low vision conditions and strive to provide solutions that improve our patients’ quality of life. With extensive experience and a diverse selection of prescription low vision aids, we are equipped to meet the vision demands created by wide range of eye conditions.

Why Refer to Midwest Low Vision?

What distinguishes us is not just our depth of experience and education, but also our personalized, goal-oriented approach to patient care and education. We are committed to providing the time and attention necessary to address each patient’s individual vision needs.

What is the Process?

The Referral

The first step in our patient care process is referral. As a healthcare provider, you can identify patients with unmet vision needs and educate them about the options available at Midwest Low Vision. This step involves sharing office notes and patient contact information with us.

The Call

Upon receiving a referral, we will contact the patient directly. This call serves to gather additional information, discuss the patient’s needs, and schedule an appointment. If for any reason an appointment is not scheduled, we will inform your office and provide an explanation.

The Evaluation

The evaluation is an in-depth process that includes a detailed history, a “wish list” of the patient’s vision goals, measurements, expectations, trials, tests, and education. Each patient will receive a personalized care plan based on their unique vision goals. After the evaluation, we send you a summarized report of our prescriptions and recommendations to keep you updated on the patient’s progress.

The Dispense

The final step in our process is the dispensing of the prescription low vision aids. We ensure the fit, adjust as necessary, educate the patient on proper use, and confirm that the patient’s goals and expectations are met. We encourage our patients to, not only follow-up with us as needed, but to follow-up with their referring healthcare provider as scheduled to ensure continuity of care.

For referrals or inquiries, call us at 877-577-2040, fax us at 812-332-5092, or email our lead low vision technician, Holly, at holly@midwestlowvision.com.

Empower your patients and enhance your practice by partnering with Midwest Low Vision. Together, we can provide access to life-changing low vision care!

Hello to our dedicated patients and esteemed referring physicians,

At Midwest Low Vision, our commitment has always been to ensure specialized eye care reaches as many individuals with low vision as possible. While our mainstay is in Bloomington, Indiana, it’s important to highlight and remind our community that for years, Dr. Jarrod Long has been serving the wonderful people of Clarksville and Evansville, Indiana and surrounding communities.

Our consistent presence in these locations underlines our commitment to making expert care accessible. We understand that not everyone may be aware of our reach in Clarksville and Evansville, and we want to ensure that everyone, especially potential patients and referring doctors, is informed.

Dr. Jarrod Long’s approach at Midwest Low Vision entails using specialized tools and techniques to assess remaining vision and craft personalized solutions like telescopic and microscopic glasses designed to counter conditions such as macular degeneration. Our recommendations might also encompass non-optical aids, always aiming to enhance our patients’ quality of life no matter the extent of their vision loss.

To our respected referring optometrists, ophthalmologists, and others, if you have patients in these regions who could benefit from specialized vision care, please remember that we are conveniently located in all three areas.

Thank you for your enduring trust in us. For further insights into our work and care, feel free to explore our YouTube channel and other social media outlets. And as always, contact Holly or Dr. Long directly at 877-577-2040.

To clearer visions and lasting bonds!

Warm regards,

The Midwest Low Vision Team

Holly, our lead low vision technician, and also a patient with Stargardt Disease, was invited along with another individual with low vision to evaluate low vision and blindness accessibility in our new local hospital.  See her comments below.

This sweet patient (see photo) brought her dulcimer, music stand, clip-on lamp, and sheet music so that we could accurately recreate her set-up. She has macular degeneration and sees 20/150 with her dominant right eye and 20/50 with her left eye with no basic glasses correction being necessary. Due to a “binocular rivalry” she actually sees better with her right eye occluded or fogged. She needs to see her strings at 14″ and her music at 22″ to 24″.  Continue below for more on how we reached her low vision goal of seeing her instrument and music at the same time!

1. She was using enlarged music, or in her case “tabs” for the dulcimer, which she was writing out by hand in bold large print.

2. Even with her handwritten tabs and a +2.00 spherical glasses prescription (19.5″ focal length) she was not seeing adequately.

3. As seen in the photo, our solution was a pair of wide-angle bioptic telescopic glasses, left eye only, with a +2.75 spherical carrier (14″ focal length) and a +4.75 spherical telescope eyepiece (24″ focal length) and no angle of inclination (i.e., no upwards tilt).

4. “This is going to work! I can see at least three bars wide at a time!” We ordered a plano lens for the right eye and will supply a lens-clip that she can use as needed to occlude her right eye in case she is unable to suppress it.

Thank you and please share our information with your patients or loved ones with vision loss. While we see most of our patients by referral, all calls are welcome to see if we can help. Call 1-877-577-2040 and speak with me or our lead low vision technician, Holly.

Click the photo below to learn more about the kit Dr. Long designed to help himself and other doctors more effectively prescribe telescopic reading glasses.

• I have accidentally become a neuro-optometrist.  Patients with TBI and other neurological deficits often have low vision…so I see them regularly.
• Beyond the usual functional vision goals due to decreased visual acuity, these patients need help with various vision and other related symptoms.
• TBI symptoms can include blurred vision, headaches, photophobia, reading difficulties, eyestrain, diplopia, eye movement disorders, visual field defects, color vision changes, impaired contrast sensitivity, perceptual difficulties, and vestibular dysfunctions such as visual motion sensitivity (VMS).

• My Top 5 TBI Treatments:
  • Filters, Light Control
  • Prism, for Alignment/Binocularity, as well as Sectoral, Yoked, and Base-In
  • Increased Plus Power for Near
  • Selective Occlusion
  • Vision and Occupational Therapy Referral

LEARN MORE about how Dr. Long helps these patients