High quality low vision rehabilitation at the National Center

The Low Vision Center at the Gemelli Hospital in Rome respects excellent standards of different aspects of its services

The National Centre of Services and Research for the Prevention of Blindness and Rehabilitation of the Visually Impaired has obtained and renewed an important quality certification, in accordance with the requirements of the ISO 9001:2008 standard. This highlights the high levels of its activity, particularly in the following areas:

• preventive medicine;
• programming and execution of rehabilitation treatments for patients with low vision;
• epidemiological research;
• basic research;
• experimenting with new rehabilitation models;
• use of advanced optical and electronic aids for low vision;
• use of visual-functional evaluation software;
• training and updating of healthcare professionals;
• networking activities (with other Visual Rehabilitation Centers) and advocacy.

As far as the quality level is concerned, external experts assessed the consistency of the policy, objectives and strategies of the National Center, with a large commitment by the head of IAPB Italy to auditing procedures, which led to a careful qualitative assessment. All this has taken place in the framework of an excellent and fruitful collaboration with the A. Gemelli Hospital. Great staff preparation, including the technicians, is an obvious guarantee for all patients. The National Centre is, among other things, a WHO Collaborating Centre on Prevention of Blindness and Rehabilitation. It started as a project of the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness-IAPB Italy, which became reality thanks to Law no. 291/03. Inaugurated in autumn 2007, it has been running since 2008 at the Gemelli Hospital in Rome.