Neuro-Optometric Rehabilitation Association

Enhancing Neurological Recovery Through Vision Rehabilitation

DeAnn Fitzgerald, OD

President

DeAnn Fitzgerald, OD DeAnn Fitzgerald, O.D. is Immediate Past President of the Neuro-Optometric Rehabilitation Association (NORA), an inter-disciplinary group of professionals dedicated to providing patients who have physical or cognitive disabilities as a result of an acquired brain injury with a complete ocular health evaluation and optimum visual rehabilitation education and services to improve their quality of life. 

Dr. Fitzgerald has been providing eye care to eastern Iowa since graduating from Pacific University School of Optometry in 1984. She runs a busy primary care clinic where she diagnoses and treats ocular disease and evaluates patients with brain injury. In 2007, she opened a multi-disciplinary clinic, Cedar Rapids Vision in Motion, which provides low vision services and vision skills rehabilitation, with an emphasis on vestibular and visual skills. She recently launched her sports vision and concussion clinic, Active Evolution Studio.

Dr. Fitzgerald has a special interest in sports vision performance and concussion.  She attended Luther College in Decorah, Iowa where she played softball and basketball. At Pacific University, she went to the NCAA softball nationals two years in a row. She taught pitching and batting clinics and was umpire in chief of softball tournaments for high school students. Dr. Fitzgerald also played semi-professional softball in the 1980’s.

She has helped facilitate over 17,000 baseline testings for concussion in Cedar Rapids and the surrounding communities. Active Evolution Studio utilizes their Sports Vision Performance protocol to train the area amateur and professional teams in hockey, basketball, arena football, and soccer. Working with Metro Youth Football, which has 1,400 young people playing football annually, Dr. Fitzgerald has helped implement a baseline screening protocol with nearly 100% athlete participation. Her pre-season baseline and post-concussion care protocol has attracted attention from the National Football League.

Dr. Fitzgerald has lectured nationally about neuro-rehabilitation and concussion. She is CIC certified in ImPACT, which is a web-based product used in concussion management. 

Dr. Fitzgerald is a member of American Optometric Association (AOA), Iowa Optometric Association (IOA), College of Optometrists in Vision Development (COVD), Optometric Extension Program Foundation (OEPF), and International Association of Functional Neurology and Rehabilitation (IAFNR).