ICO Provides Manpower for CURE Network Event

ICO faculty, staff and students helped to provide eye care to hundreds of people at a CURE Network event this fall.

ICO faculty, staff and students helped to provide eye care to hundreds of people at a CURE Network event this fall.

Illinois College of Optometry (ICO) faculty and staff members joined 58 ICO students to participate in the CURE (Collaborative Underserved Relief and Education) Network’s annual event this September. The ICO contingency helped to provide eye care to more than 700 patients during the event.

The network was created to meet the vital and ever-growing need to bring free medical services to the underinsured and those without insurance in the greater Chicagoland area. Since its inception in 2010, the network has provided more than $2,700,000 worth of free medical, dental and vision care to more than 4,000 patients.

Also: The work of the five-member ICO communications team was recognized among the best of Chicago-area PR and marketing when it received a Golden Trumpet Award for its campaign “It’s About More Than Just the Eyes.” The campaign shares the personal journeys of patients and illuminates why the Illinois Eye Institute is so important to Chicago. The campaign also won a Pinnacle Award of Excellence from the Illinois Society for Healthcare Marketing and Public Relations. The ICO communications team also won two social media Awards of Excellence this year as part of the 27th Annual Awards for Publication Excellence (APEX).