WI - Wisconsin Vision Services

5316 West State Street
Milwaukee, WI 53208
414-778-5800
www.aibexpress.com [3]

Associated Industries for the Blind is an AbilityOne Base Supply Center that provides employment opportunities for people who are blind or have other severe disabilities along with quality service to Federal Government Customers.

AbilityOne Base Supply Centers (BSCs), first launched in 1995, harness the collective resources of a nationwide network of providers to supply superior products and services to government customers through a commercial retail setting. In purchasing from AbilityOne BSCs, government customers support the employment of qualified professionals who are blind or have other severe disabilities through the AbilityOne Program.

912 North Hawley Road
Milwaukee, WI 53213
877-258-9200 (Toll free)
414-258-9200
414-256-8748 (Fax)
www.badgerassoc.org [7]
E-mail: info@badgerassoc.org [8]

Since 1919, the Badger Association has been a leading resource for people who are blind and visually impaired, helping thousands of people each year lead productive, independent lives.

The Badger Association offers vision rehabilitation, residential options, vision loss support groups and support services, and recreational opportunities. Developed according to the participants' needs, our full spectrum of services creates community, communication, and independence among Southeastern Wisconsin's growing visually impaired population.

415 West Campus Drive
Wausau, WI 54401
715-298-0086
715-298-2335 (Fax)
http://blindandvisuallyimpairedservices.com [11]
E-mail: info@blindandvisuallyimpairedservices.com [12]

Blind and Visually Impaired Services LLC provides assessment and training for the visually impaired and blind population of Northcentral Wisconsin. Blind and Visually Impaired Services LLC offers functional low vision assessments and follow-up training as well as evaluations and sequential, competency based instruction in orientation and mobility; braille; assistive technology; computer keyboarding; and activities of daily living.

3195 South Superior Street
Milwaukee, WI 53207
414-481-7477 (Voice/TTY)
414-481-7481 (Fax)
www.deaf-blind.org [15]
E-mail: info@deaf-blind.org [16]

The mission of the Center for Deaf-Blind Persons is to provide the services needed to minimize the effects of combined vision and hearing loss upon the individual and family. The Center helps each person with a dual sensory loss to develop skills, achieve goals, and regain the highest level of activity possible when participating in meaningful work or leisure activities.

8038 MacIntosh Lane
Rockford, IL 61107
800-545-0080 (Toll free)
815-332-6820 (TDD/TTY)
815-332-6800
www.rockfordcenter.org [19]
E-mail: info@rockfordcenter.org [20]

The Center for Sight and Hearing has served northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin since 1962 and specializes in helping individuals with a vision and/or hearing loss to be independent.

Services are provided to persons of all ages and skill levels:

• Rehabilitation Teaching
• Orientation and Mobility training
• Assistive technology training
• Employment services
• Counseling
• New Visions, a group learning experience to develop coping and independence skills
• Grade I or II braille literacy classes
• Low Vision Services
• Speechreading
• Sign Language
• Social/Recreation Program
• Simple Solutions, a technology and assistive device service, has products for individuals, professionals or others to try on site, loan, or buy
• Short term or consultation services

Signature Eye Care
17125 Bluemound Road, Suite F
Brookfield, WI 53005
262-786-9630
262-786-3972 (Fax)

Optical Consultants
2217 Silvernail Road
Pewaukee, WI 53072
262-521-9383
262-521-9484
www.drpetrou.com [24]
E-mail: drpetrou@gmail.com [16]

Dr. Petrou provides high quality, comprehensive eye care for patients of all ages. She believes that preventive medicine is the key to avoiding medical eye problems and takes time during office visits to discuss what patients can do to improve and protect their vision.

Services include a comprehensive low vision eye exam and a consultative optometric specialist to educate, assess, advise, and manage all concerns related to loss of functional vision and affected activities of daily living.

5141 Door Drive
Madison, WI 53705-4752
608-233-3464
608-233-3464 (Fax)
www.lowvisionsimulators.com [27]
E-mail: LowVisionSimulators@gmail.com [28]

Fork in the Road creates low vision simulators that provide a reasonably accurate picture of some of the functional limitations and abilities that may be experienced with different types of visual impairments, including macular degeneration, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, and cataracts.

Low vision simulators can be used to teach rehabilitation, education, medical, and health care providers about the impact of vision impairment on patients, clients, or students, and can be used for in-service or continuing education programs. The web site provides simulator activities, frequently asked questions, and ordering information.

Helen Keller National Center for Deaf-Blind Youths and Adults [31]
National Office Headquarters:
141 Middle Neck Road
Sands Point, NY 11050-1218
Switchboard hours: 8 a.m. to 3:45 p.m.
516-944-8900 (Voice)
516-944-8908 (VP)
516-944-8637 (TTY)
516-944-7302 (Fax)
E-mail: hkncinfo@hknc.org [32]

Regional Representative contact information: www.hknc.org/FieldServicesREGREPADD.htm [33]

The Center provides services to youth and adults who are deaf-blind according to the definition of deaf-blindness in the Helen Keller Act. The national center in New York and regional offices that serve each state provide advocacy, support groups, information, and services to people who have both a vision and a hearing loss.

The mission of the Helen Keller National Center for Deaf-Blind Youths and Adults (HKNC) is to enable each person who is deaf-blind to live and work in his or her community of choice. Authorized by an Act of Congress in 1967, the Helen Keller National Center for Deaf-Blind Youths and Adults is a national rehabilitation program serving youth and adults who are deaf-blind.

5141 Door Drive
Madison, WI 53705
608-233-3464 (Telephone and Fax)
www.inthezonule.com [88]  
E-mail: mail@inthezonule.com [89]  

Provides national educational seminars in low vision rehabilitation to rehabilitation professionals, including, but not limited to, vision rehabilitation professionals, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and speech therapy practitioners.

445 South Curtis Road
West Allis, WI 53214
800-642-8778 (Toll free)
414-778-3040
414-778-3041 (Fax)
www.ibmilw.com [92]
E-mail: sales@ibmilw.com [93]

Industries for the Blind, Inc. provides opportunities for independence, skill development, and improved quality of life for hundreds of blind individuals through the creation of meaningful jobs.

All products are produced in a modern, automated 100,000 sq. ft. plant in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and a new satellite pen assembly facility Janesville, Wisconsin. Products include a variety of pens, office products, and custom imprint services.

90 Bridge Street, Suite 100
Westbrook, ME 04092
207-857-9001
207-857-9199 (Fax)
www.itnamerica.org [96]
Send E-mail to ITNAmerica [97]

ITNAmerica is a national non-profit organization that provides transportation to seniors and adults with visual impairments. ITNAmerica provides rides with door-through-door, arm-through-arm service and allows older people to trade their own cars to pay for rides and enables volunteer drivers to store transportation credits for their own future transportation needs.

ITNAmerica's affiliate communities include Charleston, SC; Chicago, IL; Portland, ME; Orlando, Sarasota, FL; Los Angeles, San Diego, Monterey CA; Lexington, KY; Enfield, Middlesex, Middletown, and Fairfield County, CT; the Quad Cities of IA; Cincinnati, OH; Las Vegas, NV; Racine, WI; St. Charles, Kansas City MO; Westchester County, NY; Boston, Framingham MA

Ophthalmology/Eye Institute
The Eye Institute web site [101]

The Eye Institute
925 N. 87th Street
Milwaukee, WI 53226
414-456-2020
414-456-6300 (Fax)

The Eye Institute – West
N19 W24075 Riverwood Drive, Suite 130
Waukesha, WI 53188
Patients are seen by physician referral only.
262-347-2220
262-347-2220 (Fax)

2200 University Avenue West, Suite 200
Saint Paul, MN 55114
800-871-8780 (Toll free)
651-203-2200
651-203-2203 (Fax)
www.thelowvisioncenter.com [104]
E-mail: lowvisionstore@yahoo.com [105]

The Low Vision Store carries a full line of daily living products and reading machines for people who are blind or have low vision. They cover the five-state area of North and South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa and will do free in-house demonstrations for all reading machines.

Ophthalmology: Vision Rehabilitation Service
Grandview Medical Center
300 North Grandview Avenue, Suite F
Dubuque, IA 52001
563-589-0592
Web site [114]
E-mail: clinical-outreach@uiowa.edu [115]  

The new vision rehabilitation clinic complements services currently provided by University of Iowa's Specialty Eye Care - Retina Service and will provide treatment for patients with low vision, along with offering consultation, educational activities, and other support services for physicians in northeast Iowa, southwest Wisconsin, and northwest Illinois.

www.va.gov [118] 
Contact the VA [119]

The mission of the Veterans' Healthcare System (VHA) is to serve the needs of America's veterans by providing primary care, specialized care, and related medical and social support services. Approximately a quarter of the nation's population -- approximately 70 million people -- are potentially eligible for VA benefits and services because they are veterans, family members or survivors of veterans.

Facilities Locator Home Page [120]: 
Use this search feature to locate VA facility-related information quickly and accurately.

Fact Sheets about VA Services [121]:
Use this search feature to locate VA News Releases and Fact Sheets on topics that include health care and benefits.

Services for Blind and Visually Impaired Veterans [122]:
The mission of the VA Blind Rehabilitation Service is to coordinate a healthcare service delivery system that provides a continuum of care for blinded veterans extending from their home environment to the local VA facility and to the appropriate rehabilitation setting.

Visual Impairment Service Team (VIST) [123]:
The Visual Impairment Service Team (VIST) Coordinator serves as the initial contact person for getting help with vision loss. VIST Coordinators are located at local VA Medical Centers across the country. They work to ensure that veterans with visual impairments receive appropriate benefits and services.

The VIST Coordinator is a case manager who has major responsibility for the coordination of all services for legally blind veterans and their families. Duties include providing and/or arranging for the provision of appropriate treatment plans and programs in order to enhance a blinded veteran's functioning level.

Other duties include identifying new cases of blindness, providing professional counseling, resolving problems, arranging annual healthcare reviews, and conducting education programs relating to blindness.

Services for blind and visually impaired veterans include:

• Orientation and Mobility
• Independent Living Skills
• Manual Skills
• Visual Skills and Low Vision Services
• Computer Access Training
• Physical Conditioning
• Recreation
• Adjustment to Blindness
• Family Program

University Station Eye Clinic
Low Vision Service
2880 University Avenue
Madison, WI 53705
608-263-7171 (Appointments)
Web site [127]
Additional contact information [128]

517 North Segoe Road, #200
Madison, WI 53705-3172
608-233-0222
608-233-0249 (Fax)
www.vbti.org [131]
E-mail: office.vbti@tds.net [132]

Volunteer Braillists and Tapists, Inc. (VBTI) is a Madison-based non-profit Wisconsin corporation dedicated to providing print materials in braille or on audiocassette.

VBTI serves visually- or print-impaired persons regardless of age, race, religion, sex, or national origin and can transcribe a wide range of reading materials, including:

• Textbooks and school materials, including foreign languages, mathematics, and class materials for pre-school through graduate school
• Job-related materials
• Leisure reading books for children and adults
• Daily living materials: cookbooks, appliance instruction manuals, computer manuals, inspirational writings, knitting and crocheting patterns, and crossword puzzles
• Practical items such as menus, bank statements, agendas, minutes of meetings, and playbills.

754 Williamson Street
Madison, WI 53703
800-783-5213 (Toll free)
608-255-1166
608-255-3301 (Fax)
www.wcblind.org [136]
E-mail: info@wcblind.org [137]

The Wisconsin Council of the Blind and Visually Impaired is a private, non-for-profit agency. Its mission is to promote the dignity and independence of the people in Wisconsin who are blind and visually impaired by providing services, advocating legislation, and educating the general public. WCB&VI is funded through an annual drive, private grants, and bequests.

Programs and services include:

• Assistive Devices for Independent Living
• Free White Canes
• Low Vision Services
• Orientation & Mobility Services
• Rehabilitation Teaching
• Scholarships
• Speakers Bureau
• Technology

Division of Vocational Rehabilitation
201 East Washington Street
Madison, WI 53707-7852
800-442-3477 (Toll free)
608-261-0050
608-266-0283 (TDD/TTY)
http://dwd.wisconsin.gov/dvr [140]
E-mail: dwddvr@dwd.state.wi.us [141]

1 West Wilson Street, Room 451
Madison, WI 53702
888-879-0017 (Toll free)
608-266-3109
608-266-3256 (Fax)
www.dhfs.wi.gov/blind [145]
E-mail: webmaildltc@dhfs.state.wi.us [146]

The Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services, Office for the Blind and Visually Impaired, is the government agency designated to provide assessment, training, and information to adults with vision loss, their families, and interested professionals. These services exist to enhance independent living skills and quality of life for persons with vision loss.

Quality Production by the Blind
5316 West State Street
Milwaukee, WI 53208
414-778-5800
414-778-5805 (Fax)
www.wiscraft.com [149]
E-mail: sales@wiscraft.com [150]

Wiscraft produces products used throughout the world and provides its customers with "Quality Production by the Blind" in assembly, packaging, and general machining.

Wiscraft's products for sale to government and other customers include floor mats, scrubber pads, computer accessories, and presentation paper.