Big Red Bus Needs Updating, and You Can Help on Giving Tuesday

Dr. Brandy Scombordi hears a lot of stories on the University’s Mobile Healthcare Unit affectionately known as the Big Red Bus. Like the one from a senior high school student going to college next year on a full scholarship who had his glasses stolen out of the car he was sleeping in, which contributed to his grades going down.

“He was bright, polite and so grateful. Normally his story would bring me to tears, but he had such a great personality and positive outlook,” said Dr. Scombordi, pediatric optometrist at The Eye Institute (TEI) and coordinator of the School Vision Programs, as well as the primary provider on the bus. “I can’t wait until he gets his glasses, can see again and can pull his grades back up.”

Or the story about a group of kids whose parents were refugees, some of whom knew they needed glasses but didn’t know how to access the healthcare system. “Removing this one obstacle seems so small, but is life changing for so many of our kids,” said Dr. Scombordi.

There are so many stories like those, too many to tell, really.

The Big Red Bus (BRB), Salus University’s traveling eye examination clinic on wheels, helps give those stories happy endings. Currently, it includes a full examination lane, pre-testing area and optical area and serves nine school districts. The BRB is on the road two to three times a week from October through the end of the school year. . On average, 20 children per visit receive comprehensive eye examinations, sometimes including dilation. And, two pairs of prescription glasses are dispensed within two to three weeks.

The wheels on this bus need to keep going round and round, but lately it hasn’t been reliable, breaking down on occasion. But now, the Big Red Bus – which helps so many schoolchildren in the area receive the eye care they need – could use some help itself. It plays an integral part of the success of the University’s Looking Out for Kids charity program, making it possible to meet children where they are in school and go to school districts in the Philadelphia region. The Looking Out for Kids program serves students who qualify as uninsured, underinsured or who cannot obtain care in any other way. Each year, thousands of children receive vision and hearing services through the mobile unit.

Now 18 years old, the Big Red Bus is critically in need of updating. With school visits scheduled through the end of the 2019-2020 school year and with many school districts calling for additional assistance, the bus meets a critical need in many communities. Funding for the School Visions Programs comes from the Looking Out for Kids annual charity fundraiser. This year, any gift supporting Looking Out for Kids – including updating the Big Red Bus – will be doubled up to $80,000 thanks to a generous anonymous donor.

Giving Tuesday, on Dec. 3 right after Thanksgiving, allows Salus University to continue to help change the lives of children in need and provide them with the vision and hearing care that is necessary to ensure academic success. With this campaign, the University aims to do more than raise funds to grow its programs and facilities. It also seeks opportunities to recognize pillars of the Salus community who have left indelible marks on the institution and its graduates.

It is with donations that we are able to continue to build the most technologically advanced classrooms that ensure our students continue to receive the best possible education. In today’s world, where education costs can be an obstacle, Giving Tuesday contributions will make sure that nothing stands between our students and their goals.

The Big Red Bus crew - which includes Dr. Scombordi, main driver Steven Lee, technician Alycia Miller as well as nurse Joanne Packer, technician Cathie Muhr and Dr. Luis Trujillo on occasion – has a goal of doubling the number of schools and patients for this school year. According to Dr. Scombordi, the Philadelphia School District has requested that the University increase doing its screenings from approximately 20 schools to 50 schools next year.

As an example, the Looking Out for Kids program provided vision care services to 4,500 students in the 2018-19 academic year. Doubling those numbers would prove challenging without an update of the Big Red Bus.

“In addition, many of our suburban schools are getting poorer, with free and reduced lunches increasing and the mean income of some towns dropping,” said Dr. Scombordi. “That greater need is taxing our abilities to meet the demand.”