By Staff
Wednesday, February 20, 2019 12:27 AM
WASHINGTON—The
National Association of Vision Care Plans (NAVCP) has announced that
Dustin Garis, a former global brand innovation leader at Procter & Gamble’s (P&G) FutureWorks, will deliver the keynote address at its 2019 Vision Health Summit.
By Staff
Tuesday, January 29, 2019 12:15 AM
PITTSBURGH—The
Pennsylvania Vision Foundation (PVF), an affiliate of Vision Benefits of America, has granted $20,000 to programs organized and overseen by some of its partner agencies to connect Pennsylvanians with healthy vision, according to an announcement this week. “Over the past year, we focused on deepening our relationships with existing partner agencies and expanding to include other agencies,” said Dr. Andrew Leitzel, OD, executive director of the Foundation. “By growing these relationships, we are able to provide additional funding to reach even more Pennsylvanians.”
By Staff
Tuesday, January 8, 2019 12:18 AM
ALEXANDRIA, Va.—
Think About Your Eyes, a national public awareness campaign about the importance of scheduling an annual eye exam with an optometrist, announced its advisory board members for 2019, led by incoming chairman, Dr. Rick Weisbarth. The board is comprised of a representative from each of the six leadership partners, and an at-large member representing and elected by Tier 2 partners. Dr. Weisbarth, who represents Alcon, succeeds Dr. Steve Loomis of the American Optometric Association, who will move to the non-voting role of immediate past chairman for 2019.
By Staff
Thursday, November 15, 2018 12:27 AM
ORLANDO—
The American Academy of Optometry has named Barbara Caffery, OD, PhD, FAAO, as the incoming president of the American Academy of Optometry.
By Staff
Thursday, November 8, 2018 12:24 AM
AUSTIN, Texas—
PECAA, a nationwide doctor alliance group for independent eyecare professionals, hosted its inaugural Strategic Partner Summit here in mid-October. The invitation-only event brought together senior leadership from integral industry vendor partners to discuss the inevitable changes impacting the industry and to explore solutions on how the group, collectively, could best serve their mutual customers and help support the future of independent optometry, according to an announcement. Jamie Hughes, PECAA’s general manager, led the summit meeting, and Bart Foster, managing director of
Sanitas Advisors, acted as the facilitator.
By Staff
Tuesday, November 6, 2018 12:24 AM
CHICAGO—
Prevent Blindness, the nation’s oldest volunteer eye health and safety organization, has announced that Paul Delatore, global head, market access at
Alcon, Jim McGrann, chairman and chief executive officer of
Healthy Eyes Advantage, and Rajeev S. Ramchandran, MD, associate professor of Ophthalmology in the
University of Rochester Medical School’s Department of Ophthalmology, have been elected to the organization’s board of directors. The vote was held Nov. 2 at the 2018 Prevent Blindness annual board meeting in Chicago.
By Staff
Thursday, October 25, 2018 12:21 AM
ALEXANDRIA, Va.—
Think About Yours Eyes announced the hiring of Jane Balek as executive director. She will officially begin her role on Nov. 5, 2018. Balek brings more than 20 years of experience working with non-profits and associations to this new role. She most recently served as the executive director with the School Nutrition Foundation. Prior to that, she was the deputy executive director of the National Association for Music Education (NAfME) where she oversaw business development, marketing, communications, and partnerships and sponsorships. While at NAfME, Balek concurrently served as the CEO and executive director of Give a Note Foundation where she spearheaded six national awareness campaigns impacting millions of students with the support of companies such as 20th Century Fox, Radio Disney and Nintendo.
By Staff
Tuesday, October 23, 2018 12:15 AM
ATLANTA—SECO International has opened registration for
SECO 2019, a leading conference providing the ophthalmic industry with educational opportunities With the kickoff of the registration cycle, the optometry community is encouraged to recognize outstanding optometric professionals within SECO member states with the annual call for nominations to award SECO Optometrist of the Year, SECO Paraoptometric of the Year, and SECO Young Optometrist of the Year, according to an announcement from the organization. When SECO 2019 opens in New Orleans from Feb. 20 to 24, attendees will have access to 50 continuing education credits over the course of the five days—30 of those over the weekend.
By Staff
Monday, October 15, 2018 12:24 AM
ST. LOUIS—Despite warnings by eye health experts that decorative contact lenses that are not prescribed by an eye doctor may cause eye damage, the lenses remain a popular Halloween costume accessory. To combat this potential eye hazard, the
American Optometric Association is launching its annual, pre-Halloween "31 in 31" letter-writing campaign which takes aim at retailers who AOA claims are illegally distributing corrective, novelty or bogus contact lenses in violation of federal law.
By Staff
Thursday, October 4, 2018 12:21 AM
KINGWOOD, Texas—In collaboration with a large Midwest health system,
Vision Source earlier this year piloted the Kno2: Interoperability as a Service program that focused on addressing metrics and outcomes for at-risk patients with diabetes. The pilot, the network’s first with
Kno2, was deemed a success and reduced post-examination lag times by 80 percent, a Vision Source spokeswoman told
VMAIL, as well as enabling Vision Source practices to close patient care loops within seven to 10 days rather than the previous time frame of four to 12 weeks.
By Staff
Friday, September 21, 2018 12:24 AM
NEW YORK—Registration is now open for the new online auction feature as a part of the
Optical Women’s Association’s (OWA) annual networking and raffle event. While the event will take place at Vision Expo West, the auction can be accessed from anywhere by using a mobile device, so those who may not be at Vision Expo West can still join in on the fun.
By Staff
Thursday, September 6, 2018 12:24 AM
WASHINGTON, D.C.—In late August, the U.S. Senate passed an appropriations bill that, among other actions, calls for increased vigilance for eye health and safety. The House had previously approved the legislation,
H.R. 6157, which is the third fiscal 2019 minibus appropriations bill approved by the Senate. The bill calls for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to examine eye health research findings to increase patients’ vision safety and to update its reports on the burdens of keratitis—inflammation of clear tissue on the front of the cornea—and contact lens-related infections, according to the
Health Care Alliance for Patient Safety. The Alliance, in a recent statement, acknowledged the efforts of Congress in passing the bill and the legislation’s corresponding support of eye and vision safety.
By Staff
Thursday, August 23, 2018 12:15 AM
CORAL SPRINGS, Fla.—
ABB Optical Group is sponsoring this year’s
Optical Women’s Association (OWA) Connection Series event at Vision Expo West, featuring author Joann Lublin, on Thursday, Sept. 27 from 12:00 to 1:30 p.m. at the Venetian Hotel, Level 3, in the Lido room 3005. Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist and former management news editor for
The Wall Street Journal, Lublin will offer advice and inspiration for women of all ages and at every stage of their careers. Her goal is to help women reach their highest potential without losing a meaningful personal life.
By Staff
Monday, August 20, 2018 12:18 AM
RUIDOSO, N.M.—
The Society to Advance Opticianry (SAO) will elect seven optician members to its board of directors for the September 2018-2020 term at its upcoming meeting. The organization will vote on the officers and new board members in early September, and the positions are effective Sept. 12, according to incoming president Sam Johnson of New Mexico. Barry Santini is the outgoing president, and will move into the immediate past president post at the September meeting.