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Public Health & Environmental Vision Section Newsletter - February 2020
In This Issue:

  • Breaking News of Interest to the Section
  • 2019 Annual Meeting Highlights
  • State of the PHEV Section

Visit our Section webpage for more information and news from the Public Health & Environmental Vision Section.
Breaking News of Interest to the Section
WEBINAR: Building Public Health Capacity to Enhance Vision and Eye Health
The National Association of Chronic Disease Directors has invited interested parties to their webinar on February 27, 2020 at 3 PM ET that should be of interest to the Academy’s PHEV Section. It will be led by Dr. Heather Whitson, one of the country’s leading experts in eye health, who has deep experience both clinically and tying the science to public health practice.  Learn more and register now .
2019 Annual Meeting Highlights
Diplomate Preparatory Course
From the Vice Chair – Patrick D. Yoshinaga, OD, MPH, FAAO
On Tuesday, October 22, 2019, the Public Health and Environmental Vision Section held its annual Diplomate Preparatory Course, the day before the start of Academy 2019 Orlando. The course offered an exciting full day of CE credits covering a wide variety of topics on Public Health and Environmental Vision. Thank you to the 6 attendees for their interest in the Section and who completed the day-long course. Also, a big thanks to Drs. Barbara Cohn, Stephen Dain, Sandra Block, Brian Hatch, Stanley Hatch, Debbie Hettler, Richard Hom, Kevin Jackson, Lisa Jones-Jordan, Michael Radoiu, Satya Verma, and Jeffrey Weaver for their excellent presentations and sharing their expertise. Hope to see everyone again this year in Nashville!
Henry B. Peters Memorial Award for Public Health and Environmental Vision
Robert N. Kleinstein, OD, PhD, FAAO was this year’s deserving recipient of our annual award that is given to an individual for his/her exemplary contributions to public health and/or environmental vision over many years. Dr. Peters was the founding dean at University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Optometry who recruited Bob to his career at UAB. So Bob was a particularly fitting recipient! In the Peters Award lecture, Bob reminisced on myriad significant public health research efforts that he led or was involved throughout his career. Perhaps no one in history has ever spanned the entire scope of public health AND environmental vision as Bob Kleinstein. The Section congratulates him on this award and an exemplary career!
Annual Section Symposium
From the Program Chair – Karl Citek, OD, PhD, FAAO
Our Section had a unique opportunity this year, presenting the Joint Public Health and Environmental Vision Section and the World Council of Optometry Symposium: International Optometry: Public Health, Education and Personnel Issues. Based partly on information presented at this year’s Plenary Session, a distinguished panel discussed the education and personnel resources needed to reduce vision impairment and prevent vision loss in countries and regions around the world. 

Thank you to the panel participants who made this event a success: Karl Citek, OD, PhD, FAAO, and Bina Patel, OD, FAAO, Moderators; Sandra Block, OD, MPH, FAAO; Kovin Naidoo, OD, MPH, PhD, FAAO; Shehzad Naroo, MSc, PhD, FAAO; Hector Santiago, OD, PhD, FAAO; and Meng Meng Xu, OD, FAAO.

In addition, the public health presence at this meeting surpassed any optometry meeting in recent memory. We are making an impact as a Section, and will work toward even greater levels of success!
New Diplomates!
From the Diplomate Chair – Fred E. Soto, OD, MPH, FAAO
We welcomed FOUR new Diplomates in Public Health and Environmental Vision at Academy 2019 Orlando! All four completed their rigorous candidacy with successful defense of their Diplomate projects:

John Robert Hayes, MA, PhD, FAAO: Blue Light: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Michael C. Radoiu, OD, MPH, FAAO: Providers and Eye Care Access in Rural America

Karen N. Sparrow, MPH, FCOptom, FAAO: Botswana Optometry Workforce Survey 2016

Nicholas J. Rumney, MScOptom, FCOptom, FAAO: The Development of an Enhanced Public Health Primary Care Role for UK Optometry

Congratulations to all of you from all your PHEV colleagues on this accomplishment!
Dr. John Robert Hayes
Dr. Michael C. Radoiu
Ms. Karen N. Sparrow
Prof. Nicholas J. Rumney
State of the PHEV Section
Like the higher level expressed at this year’s State of the Union, the State of the Public Health and Environmental Vision Section is stronger than ever before!  Our current census is as follows: 30 Clinical Diplomates, 7 Emeritus Diplomates, and 3 Retired Diplomates. Perhaps more importantly, we have 19 Fellows working toward the Diplomate credential, comprising 10 true Candidates who have passed the written and initial oral exams, and 9 others who have taken our prep course and/or exam. 

In addition to the successes noted throughout this newsletter, over the last year the PHEV Section updated the Diplomate Exam, making progress toward it being fully consistent with standards of a high stakes examination. For the first time, the exam was delivered as a computer-based exam. 

Perhaps something that we overlook is that our Section is really our home, our immediate family within the ever-growing Academy. This may have been most evident during our new tradition that took place just before the school alumni receptions. Our meet-and-greet incorporating our first Champagne Toast to congratulate our new Diplomates had elbow to elbow attendance in the suite! I hope we can have even more camaraderie in the future.
Sincerely,





Jeffrey L. Weaver, OD, MS, FAAO
Chair, Public Health and Environmental Vision Section