This week, the Tennessee Department of Disability and Aging (DDA) awarded $335,000 to the Vanderbilt Eye Institute (VEI) to continue vital services for Tennessee students with visual impairments.
Project PAVE (Providing Access to the Visual Environment) was established in 1993 as a collaborative program between the Tennessee Department of Education, Lions Clubs of Tennessee and Vanderbilt University.
The program has been housed in the Vanderbilt Eye Institute for over 20 years and has served more than 2,500 school-age children across Tennessee, providing comprehensive low vision evaluations, prescribed optical devices and specialized training at no cost to eligible families. The program provides resources for students ages 5-21 with vision conditions that cannot be corrected through traditional means like glasses, contacts or surgery.
With the support of the Tennessee Department of Disability and Aging, the Tennessee legislature appropriated annual funding for Project PAVE in April 2022, ensuring low vision services into the future. Project PAVE now continues as a partnership between Vanderbilt University Medical Center, VEI, DDA and Tennessee Department of Education. With this crucial support, the program has expanded to include high-tech low vision devices and bioptic driver training for eligible students.
“We appreciate the Tennessee Department of Disability and Aging strengthening the shared commitment to Project PAVE,” said Lori Ann Kehler, OD, associate professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences and principal investigator of Project PAVE.
“The renewed funding shows Tennesseans’ dedication to ensuring low vision students across the state receive specialized educational and clinical services essential for academic success. This program shapes students’ futures, and we appreciate all of our partners in Project PAVE,” added Kehler, who holds the Jean Ewing Love and James Randle Love Directorship in Ophthalmology.
DDA Commissioner Brad Turner and State Senator Jeff Yarbro presented the 2025 funding on-site. VEI leaders, including Kehler and Tonia Rex, PhD, professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, demonstrated how devices aid students with low vision. Rex holds the Marlene and Spencer Hays Directorship in Translational Vision Research.
“We are delighted to have this amazing opportunity to partner with the Tennessee Department of Education and the Tennessee Department of Disability and Aging. Dr. Kehler and her team will be able to continue their critical work in helping the children of our state succeed through better vision,” said David Calkins, PhD, the Denis M. O’Day, MBBS, Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Vice President for VUMC Research and director of the Vanderbilt Vision Research Center.
