New York State Optometric Association Board of Trustees Meeting February 5 & 6, 2011 High Peaks Resort, Lake Placid Minutes

Transcription

1 New York State Optometric Association Board of Trustees Meeting February 5 & 6, 2011 High Peaks Resort, Lake Placid Minutes Officers and Consultants Present: Denise Whittam, OD; Thomas Landry, OD; Susan Fisher, OD; Chris Colburn, OD; Ida Chung, OD; Andrew Sacco, OD; Michele Lagana, OD; Mitch Horowitz, OD; Richard Soden, OD; Ed Cordes, OD; Mr. James Lytle, Esq.; Mr. James Walsh, Esq.; Mr. Jan Dorman Societies Present: David Girardi, OD, Central; Ryan Winters, OD, Eastern; Joseph Accettura, OD, Hudson Valley; David Vinci, OD, Mohawk Valley; Fran Reinstein, OD, OSCONY; Cathy Pace- Watson, OD, SUNYCO; Andrew Sacco, OD, South Central; Cate Scandiffio, OD, Suffolk; John Plow, OD, Southern Tier; Chris Colburn, OD, Southwestern; Jeffrey Calhoun, OD, Western; Marilyn Mann, OD, Westchester-Rockland-Putnam; Christine Ng and Jefferson Lin, Student Society Guests: David Heath, OD, Ed.M, President, SUNY College of Optometry Frank Pirozzolo, OD, Past-President Ray Pirozzolo, OD, Young OD Committee Business Partners: Marc Rubinrott, Advanced Optical; Sean O Brien, Bausch and Lomb; Ronda Smiley and Dominque Oliveira, Vistakon; Jay Magicaro, Welch Allyn Saturday, February 5, 2011, 8:30 AM 10:30 AM I. Welcome & Introduction Tom Landry, OD, NYSOA President-Elect, called the meeting to order and welcomed everyone. II. III. IV. Roll Call Ida Chung, OD, NYSOA Secretary, called the roll. Round Table Discussion with Business Partners The Business Partners were invited to share which Business Partner benefits appeal to their companies the most. Adoption of October 30-31, 2011 Meeting Minutes Dr. Chung presented the October 30-31, 2011 meeting minutes for adoption. The minutes were adopted without change. V. Workforce Study Report David Heath, OD gave a presentation on the findings of a workforce analysis carried out by Mort Soroka at the Institute for Eye Care Policy at the SUNY College of Optometry in The study was conducted to help plan the future needs of the eye care professions in New York State and the future needs of the College. Highlights included: An estimated 90% of active optometrists in New York responded. Estimated number of active optometrists is between

2 There is a gender shift towards more female than male ODs. There is a projected shortfall of OMDs due to an increase in OMD retirement An increasing population of individuals over the age of sixty-five will increase the demand for eye care. There is a projected need for more optometrists in upstate New York. The College will increase its enrollment to 100 per class, in hopes to meet this projected need The board discussed how the information could be used to further NYSOA legislative efforts. VI. VII. VIII. IX. Report from AOA Presidents Council Dr. Landry gave a report on the Presidents Council in St. Louis. He reported our association should review our compliance with policies related to nonprofit organizations. Our legal counsel will review our compliance (for the NYSOA board and local societies) and will report back in May. In St. Louis, Jan Dorman gave a presentation about membership as it applies to the Millennial Generation. A copy of the presentation is provided in the meeting folder. Jan represented New York on a panel to discuss children s vision. The Children s Vision Coalition was discussed as an effective program for raising awareness. President s Report Denise Whittam, OD gave an update on activities since the last board meeting: The Governance task force was created and a report of recommendations was completed. A tribute to Dr. Haffner took place in December of Conference calls related to legislative and legal issues, the CVC, and the Awards and Young OD committees were held. A Student retreat will take place on February 12, 2011, at the college. Report from Governance Taskforce Susan Fisher, OD presented the governance report, titled Redesigning the Governance of the New York State Optometric Association. Governance structure would consist of six regional trustees and five elected officers. Officers would have 1-year terms. The secretary and treasurer positions would be combined. The regional trustees would include three representing update and three representing downstate. Officers and trustees would meet six times a year. Adjourned Sunday, February 6, :00 AM 11:00 AM I. Financial Report Chris Colburn, OD presented the financial report. Investment vehicles for our cash assets are continually reassessed, including reconsidering CDs if the rates continue to improve in the future. There were planned but not budgeted items that resulted in reflected losses, the major item being CE-NY with an anticipated loss of $50-60,000. The actual loss will not be known until after a planned meeting with the College

3 to reconcile actual expenses and revenues. Borrowing from reserves may be necessary depending on the level of loss. II. III. IV. Legal and Legislative Report Jim Lytle, Esq., and Jim Walsh, Esq. presented the Legal and Legislative Report. The following issues were highlighted: Restasis issue: This is related to BCBSWNY s policy requiring optometrists to refer dry eye patients to an MD before prescribing Restasis. This policy is illegal. The Manatt Team has been in contact with BCBSWNY and has a meeting scheduled with their general counsel to resolve the issue outside of the court. Orals bill: The Manatt team and members have been meeting with bill sponsors and other members of the higher education committee. It is important for optometrists to continue to meet with legislators to reaffirm past sponsors /supporters and to get new sponsors/supporters in both the Assembly and the Senate. The Manatt Team has put together a list of key persons. All board members should actively engage in NYSOA planned meetings, including lobby day, an engage in individual efforts, such as meeting at a legislator s district office. OD/MD Partnership bill is actively being pursued with the support of sponsors. Opposition by the State Medical Society is still present. The Manatt Team is continuing to meet with legislators to clarify the purpose of the bill. The delegation of optometric tasks legislation is ongoing. More emphasis may be placed this year on this piece of legislation. A concern is the raising of this issue now may set back the orals bill. Discussion on Governance Dr. Fisher led the discussion on Governance (a follow-up to the report presented on February 5). The local societies reported support for the governance change. There was consensus that only members of the region can run as a trustee for that region, and only members of a particular region can cast votes in that region. Consideration of how to divide the state geographically and into how many regions was discussed. Options included 2-3 regions for upstate and 2-3 for downstate. Number of trustees for each region can be the same or can vary as determined by the number of members. Society presidents want information with details of the proposed governance change to bring back to their members so that a vote for a change in the constitution can take place at the upcoming House of Delegates. The student society will still have a trustee for representation and voting rights. The move to one-year terms for executive officers will require a doubling of the number of officers. This is concerning to some, but many other states and the AOA use this one-year term structure successfully. Action: The Manatt Team will draft a resolution for presentation at the next House of Delegates meeting. Open Agenda PAC: Jan asked all board members to donate to PAC. A PAC brochure has been developed for a new PAC campaign.

4 CVC: Bookmarks, posters, and other items have been developed to be sent to contributors, based on contribution amount, as a benefit for their support. Jan has asked all board members to contribute. Contributions can now be made on-line. Business Partner Program: Dr. Horowitz distributed a list of potential partners and assigned each board member a list of contacts to follow-up. New business partner brochures have been developed and are to be used when contacting companies. V. Discussion on Health Exchanges Chris Colburn, OD and Jim Lytle, Esq. led the discussions. They stressed the importance for optometry to be involved in health insurance exchange from the beginning, as eye care benefits are being defined. VI. VII. VIII. IX. Discussion on Health Care Reform The change in governor in New York has stalled progress. The state is currently involved in Medicaid cuts. There is also a question of the legality of the Healthcare Reform Bill and whether the federal government can mandate the purchase of health insurance. Membership Report Jan Dorman gave the membership report. There is a concern of low membership in organized optometry. New York has one of the lowest rates of membership, transition of graduates into membership, and percentage of SUNYCO faculty who are AOA members. Jan presented a strategic plan with goals towards increasing membership that includes: -a student retreat hosted by the AOSA and NYSOA student representatives. -providing students with career placement services (through the College s new student career center) There are doctors who want to bring in member doctors/students into their practice the association can reach out to these doctors for practice opportunities. Suggestion of a financial analysis of what members versus non-members earn may be helpful in understanding and promoting membership. Discussion on Student Retreat Jan Dorman and Denise Whittam, OD informed the board of the upcoming Student retreat. Discussion of the SUNYCO Faculty Retreat The plans for the SUNYCO faculty retreat are still being determined. There has not been a retreat focused on faculty engagement in recent memory. X. CE-NY Change in sponsorship level this year related to CE-NY allows companies to be business partners if they do not want to contribute at least $20,000, which is the minimum level to be a CE-NY sponsor. XI. Student Panel at IVE This program has expanded to include Pennsylvania and New Jersey, with PA hosting the program this year. There will be a panel of speakers followed by a Q&A session.

5 XII. XIII. Board Certification Exam CE-NY will offer the last four hours of the twenty-one hour track of board review offered at IVE, and will offer ten hours of CE at the upcoming Annual Meeting in Corning. Check the ABO website for more information regarding test dates (in June) and testing centers. The Board approved a suggestion to have CE-NY offer hours of CE two or three days prior to the start of the board meeting in Lake Placid next year. Adjourned