Dr. Barry S. Kran, longtime optometric director for the New England Eye Low Vision Clinic at Perkins, has been honored with the 2015 Allen Crocker, MD Health Services Award for his work to improve vision care for people with disabilities.
Kran and his colleague from Boston University Eye Associates, Dr. Jean E. Ramsey, were recognized at a ceremony at the Massachusetts State House on March 17. They were nominated for the award by Lisa DiBonaventura, statewide director for vision and vision loss services for the Department of Developmental Services, who was inspired by their belief that effective eye exams can be administered to people with complex disabilities.
“They have built a critically needed bridge between the disability and eye care communities,” she wrote. “Individually and together, Drs. Ramsey and Kran lecture, publish, teach and spearhead initiatives to raise awareness of needs, better understand barriers to care, improve current access to care and prepare the next generation of providers.”
Kran is a professor at the New England College of Optometry in addition to his role at the New England Eye Low Vision Clinic. The clinic, located on the Perkins campus in Watertown, Massachusetts, is one of the few facilities that provide comprehensive eye care services to patients of all ages with multiple disabilities. It also serves as a teaching facility for the New England College of Optometry.
“We have a treasure here at Perkins,” Kran said. “Our clinic coordinator, Darick Wright, and our colleague, Luisa Mayer have grown our model of care over the past 15 years and have supported the mission of Perkins both locally and internationally through our educational programming online and face-to-face programs. I hope we can continue to find ways to grow the reach of the clinic to improve the lives of our students on campus as well as those of individuals the world over.”