Wed, Nov 25 2009
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Bringing life back into focus Star BeaconKogler is also assisted in her business by employees Beverly Ball and Edwin Janoch. Janoch, 45, has been visually impaired from birth. He suffers from retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), and like many of the people who come into the store, requires magnification devices to read print.
With help from these devices and software, Janoch puts out a quarterly newsletter and maintains the store's Web site, magnifiersandmore.net. He has a bachelor's in communicative arts and has completed Microsoft Office training. Kogler says he's an inspiration and valuable resource for customers dealing with vision impairment. "I think he adds some comfort," she says. "People come in here scared, apprehensive on their first visit." "One of the hardest things is that for many of these people, their vision has been fine for so long, and then all of a sudden, bingo, it's not what it used to be," she adds. Poor vision zone Macular degeneration is the most common vision impairment among Kogler's customers - of the 80 percent who are over 65, 60 percent of them have macular degeneration. She says it's a condition that's on the rise, as well. Known risk factors include UV exposure earlier in life, smoking, being a woman and a lack of antioxidants in the diet. Having seen how devastating macular degeneration is, Kogler includes a strong education outreach as part of her business. To emphasize the need for UV protection, even Murphy wears sunglasses when he goes outdoors. To help raise money for research into macular degeneration and other vision-impairing diseases, Kogler developed a VIP wristband that sells for $2. Kogler says the wristband also helps identify the person wearing it as someone with vision impairment. Most people who have an impairment don't look different from those with normal vision; the wristband helps alert the grocery clerk, police officer or rescue personnel to their special needs. Yet another way Kogler helps encourage this growing community is a monthly support group at the Mentor Senior Center. Started in May 2006, the group has grown to 35 participants. Kogler says these services are part of what her business is all about. "Our whole goal is to keep them safe and independent," she says. She stocks at least 300 different items to accomplish that end. About a quarter of them are magnifiers, which may seem like overkill until you understand the special needs of people with vision impairment. For example, hand-held magnifiers must do more than just enlarge the object because there's a dimming of the vision, as well. Consequently, many of the magnifiers have an LED light built in. LEDs consume less power than traditional bulbs and have the added benefit of never burning out. That means a person with poor vision doesn't have to tackle the difficult task of replacing a small bulb. There are portable magnifiers used to read a menu or map, light-weight models for prolonged hand holding and stand-mounted ones for stationary use. Kogler says off-the-shelf magnifiers often don't use optical glass and grinding techniques, and therefore distort the image. Kogler does not stock strong magnifiers that cover a big area: that's optically impossible. 
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