Dear Colleagues,
With the introduction of SB 1406 for the expansion of our profession's SCOPE of practice, everyone's help is needed. Please remember to thank CA State Sena- tors Aanestad & Correa for authoring this bill on behalf of COA. Among the vari- ous opportunities to help in the passage of SB 1406 includes taking time to join one of the legislative meetings which Drs Tom Lim and Art Low have set up and been conducting these past weeks. Also, communicating (fax, email, phone call, personal visit to their local office in Santa Clara County) to our legislators asking them to support this bill. Please save the date, April 15, 2008, for the COA Key- person Day in Sacramento. Here, the more doctors the legislators see show up, the more impact will be our message to them in supporting SB 1406. Anyone available to travel to Sacramento for April 15, please email my office @ afoc2020@yahoo.com and indicate if you need a ride, willing to carpool and drive, and your contact information so our society can coordinate our KP efforts. Talking points include that we, optometrists, also are gatekeepers to primary care delivery, since we diagnose and treat chronic and acute diseases and conditions affecting the eye and its systems. We provide the citizens of California easier access to eye care as there are more optometrists in all geographical areas of the state as compared to ophthalmologists, who are mostly lo- cated near hospitals. Additional facts are available from COA or just ask Drs Tom Lim and Art Low.
VOSH(Volunteer Optometric Services to Humanity) of California is currently looking for volunteers for their eye care trips. Since 1989, VOSH/California has provided over 50 missions to 14 countries serving over 300,000 patients. VOSH/California has also donated over $11 million in medicine, equipment, supplies, and services to countries in Central and South America and Asia. The society liaison position is open. Liaisons' would participate in the monthly telephone conference, relay information regarding upcoming mission trips, equipment and text book donation requests, aid with possible mission trip ideas, help in submitting articles or advertise mission trips in the society newsletter. Anyone interested also in being the liaison between SCCOS and VOSH/California, please contact them at www.vosh-california.org. Their current President, is Julie Forister, OD. Their address is 14425 Chase Street, Panorama City, CA 91402.
March is "Save Your Vision Month". AOA dedicates this month to raising Americans' awareness of the importance of regular eye care. Free, Save Your Vision Month kits are available from AOA at publicrelations@aoa.org . The kits include (3) patient info sheets in pads of 50, a template news release for local media, camera ready newspa- per ads, and an 8.5" x 11" poster.
Remember to RSVP to Dr Kavanagh @ thekavs@yahoo.com for the March 20th, Thursday evening SCCOS general meeting.
Look forward to seeing you all there.
Philip Ong
SCCOS GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING
WHEN: March 20, 2008
6:30 Cocktails and Camaraderie
7:00 Dinner and CE Event
General Meeting Immediately Following
WHERE: David’s Restaurant (Banquet Room)
5151 Stars and Stripes Drive, Santa Clara, (408) 986-1666
Next to the Santa Clara Golf Club
SPEAKER: Kimberly Cockerham, M.D.
TOPIC: Thyroid Eye Disease and Orbital Oculoplasty
1.5 hours of CE pending
Meal choices: Prime Rib, Seabass, or Portabella Mushroom in Marinara
COST: Members: included as a membership benefit , Non-members: $45 (RSVP and pay at the door)
Please RSVP with Dr. Chris Kavanagh, O.D. by 5pm Monday, March 17th via e-mail at : thekavs@yahoo.com. Include NAME, CA LICENSE #, and MEAL PREFERENCE. Please note: late RSVPs are not guaranteed a meal.
KP-GRAM: Grass Roots News You Can Use
As a result of claims that some have made that our recently introduced Senate Bill 1406 (Aanestad & Correa) would "seriously threaten patient safety," some of you have asked me what COA's intentions are. Here is my response:
In my role as COA President, I urge all parties to take the high road as the Legislature prepares to consider Senate Bill 1406, our sponsored bill to expand the scope of optometric practice in California.
Our leaders and I met with the leaders of the California Academy of Eye Physicians and Surgeons at the of- fices of the California Medical Association last December and pledged to work with them to achieve a good result; our advocates are arranging meetings with them as we speak. The Chinese say that a journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step. This bill is that first step.
As far as our patients are concerned, we are all on the same side. Optometrists and ophthalmologists work closely together every day to help Californians see better and get the medical help they need. We have no desire to prejudice those relationships. What we are looking for is a fair hearing on our practice issues, and SB 1406 puts those issues on the table.
We went through similar negotiations with the Academy almost a decade ago; we didn’t get everything we asked for at the time, but have remained good to our word. As we renew our discussions, all we expect throughout this process is to be heard and treated fairly.
I hope this answers your questions. Please feel free to contact me through COA if you need anything else. Sincerely,
David M. Redman, O.D.
A SPECIAL REPORT FROM DR. ART LOW, O.D.: DEVELOPING COA' S AND SCCOS' GRASSROOTS IN PREPARATION FOR OUR SCOPE EXPANSION BILL SB 1406
Hi All, We had a very productive breakfast meeting with As- semblyman Jim Beall this morning. As a former Chair of the Board of Supervisors in Santa Clara County, he worked with the County Health Plan and is very interested in preventive care and full access. In fact, he agreed with all the points stated in the COA HCR form that I gave him. He also sits next to Ed Her- nandez in Sacramento and has had talks with him. Jim also agreed to be a co-author of an expansion bill. Optometrists present were Art Low, Saul Levine, Tommy Lim, Dale Barr, and Larry Wan (left before photo was taken).
Best Wishes,
Art Low
INFANT SEE AWARENESS IN SANTA CLARA COUNTY
We have recently been collaborating with Marsha Adler, policy analyst to Liz Kniss, Santa Clara County Supervisor. Mrs. Adler and Supervisor Kniss are very involved with children’s health initiatives, and are interested in collaborating with SCCOS to support InfantSee. SCCOS is working in conjunction with Mrs. Adler and Supervisor Kniss to form partner- ships with local public health organizations to increase public awareness of InfantSee, children’s ocular health, and children’s vision. AACI (Asian Americans for Community Involvement), the Mayview Clinic, and FirstFive are beginning to educate new parents about the importance of vision and eye-care during childhood development. I am putting to- gether a list of InfantSee providers to give to AACI, Mayview Clinic, and FirstFive. Please register for InfantSee if you are interested in being a provider. Additionally, confirm that your information is up to date on AOA.org, and please notify me at dr.jenwebb@gmail.com if you are interested in being on the list of InfantSee providers.
Jenifer Webb, O.D.
2008 Society Project
This year, the annual budget for low income and homeless people was cut by almost half, from $13 million to $7 million. In Santa Clara, poverty is almost invisible. Many families work two to three jobs so they can pay for rent and utilities, but the basic need of food is not a priority. For our next society project, we will be working together with Second Harvest Food Bank in food donations to help feed our communities. We will start with this year’s holiday season and end with next year’s winter holidays.
There are two ways that we can participate: Physical Donation: If you own a practice and are willing to donate a spot for a food donation bin in your office, please contact shongOD@gmail.com with the following information: Doctor’s name, Doctor’s practice name, office address, office phone number and fax number. Second Harvest will drop off the bin and pick up the bin when it is full for you. This is a great way to get the community you serve in to partner up with your office and feed your neighbors. Virtual Donation: For those who do not work at a practice with a food bin or would like to donate money, a virtual bank will be available online in the near future. We will have that set up soon. We will be able to track how much money we’ve donated and also how many people we are feeding. Just remember . . . with every $1.00 you donate, Second Harvest will be able to provide 2 nutritious meals.
In the near future, Thomas Pan and I (Shirley Hong) will be setting up volunteer food sorting days to help pack up all the food that we have donated!! Keep your eyes and ears open for the date!!
—- by Shirley Hong & Thomas Pan
***Leadership Positions Available NOW***
Art Low, OD and Tommy Lim, OD are currently looking for chairpersons to help them in the area of legislative issues.
Positions Available(2):
1) Legislative Chairperson (at state/COA level)
2) Legislative Chairperson (at local society/SCCOS level)
Responsibilities:
1) Develop relationships in working together with other optometrists throughout the State of California and Locally.
2) Learn legislative process by working with veteran optometrists who have been involved in legislative issues.
3) Develop awareness in society meeting (state/local levels) about legislative issues that affects our profession.
4) Learn how optometrists and the profession of Optometry can get involved with local/city/state legisla- tors and their campaigns (ie, get to know them personally through our practices, churches, local commu- nity activities). Note: COA only financially supports state campaigns.
5) Attend COA legislative events in Sacramento that educates optometrists and set up for meetings with local legislators (eg, Keyperson Day).
6) Attend fundraising events for your designated legislator in the district.
Eligibility Requirements: Any person who is a new and/or current member in Santa Clara County Optometric Society. New graduates are welcome as well.
Contact Persons (2):
Art Low, OD – Secretary-Treasurer of LSCOA-PAC
Tommy Lim, OD – Legislative/PAC
* OUR 2008 SPONSORS *
Gold
Alcon • Ciba • Cooper • Essilor
Silver
AMO • Concise/PEN • CSC/Ocular Lab • First Insight • Hoya • Transitions • Vistakon
Bronze
B&L Pharmaceutical • VWI
Please actively patronize our sponsors and thank them for their continued and generous support of our society.
The views in this publication do not neces- sarily represent those of the SCCOS, COA, AOA or the editor.
- How to advertise in the FOCUS: email requests to Dr. Tom McGrath: drtmcgrath@sbcglobal.net
- How to submit articles or postings for the FOCUS: email them by the end of the month to Dr. Lisa Chung: lizc513@yahoo.com
- How to change your email delivery address: email to Dr. Ketul Joshi at ket- joshi23@gmail.com