Talbot County proclaims August children’s eye health month after vision clinic served 29 students

Talbot County Council voted unanimously to proclaim August 2025 as Children’s Eye Health and Safety Month and recognized a new local partnership that delivered free comprehensive eye exams and glasses to county students.

The council placed the proclamation into the record after the Talbot County Health Department described a pilot clinic held April 26, 2025, during which “29 students received comprehensive eye exams” and “28 students received glasses,” all provided at no cost to families, the proclamation says.

The program was described to the council by Fami Fami, who introduced herself as the county’s health officer: “I am Fami Fami. I'm the health officer for Talbot County,” she said, and recounted being diagnosed with a vision problem as a child and how glasses changed her life. “The vision is really, I mean, significant part of our well‑being,” she said.

Megan Greenwood, director of school health services at the Talbot County Health Department, told the council the department conducts free hearing and vision screenings in accordance with COMAR and that, after the National Association of School Nurses voucher program was suspended, the department worked with a local nonprofit, Global Vision, to restore access. Greenwood said the county partnered with Global Vision and volunteer physicians — named in the proclamation as Dr. Travis Peck, Dr. Whitney Farman and Dr. Brett Klein — to run the clinic. “For the 29 children that came through our clinic, they had no other options. Absolutely no other options,” Greenwood said. She added that many students left the clinic able to see clearly for the first time.

Council members and staff praised the initiative as a community partnership between the health department, public school nurses and Global Vision volunteers. The council’s recorded vote on the proclamation was all ayes (Callahan, Stepp, Lesher, Milke, Haight). The proclamation text also notes the clinic was the first Global Vision clinic held in Talbot County and that organizers expect to run the clinic again.

The proclamation cites COMAR as the regulatory framework under which the health department provides school screening services. The council did not allocate county funds in that agenda item; the proclamation and the clinic recognition were ceremonial and did not create a new program or budget line.

The council presentation named school nurses Carrie Ader and others who helped plan and staff the clinic, and it thanked volunteer physicians and Global Vision staff who provided on‑site exams and glasses.

The county clerk recorded the proclamation into the minutes and the council placed the document on the public record.