Spring is here and that means golf season is right around the corner! Mark your calendars for the annual OOF Golf Outing:
August 7 at Scioto Reserve in Powell. The traditional annual outing with shotgun start and 36 foursomes. Complete with prizes, silent auction, games and more.
Download registration form on www.ooa.org.
Contact the OOA with questions: [email protected] – (614)781-0708
by Harmin Chima, OSU Optometry Student
For some Ohio State (OSU) Optometry students, spring break means sandy beaches and palm trees. For eight students, spring break consisted of the opportunity to serve others. These specific students visited Jamaica, and took their direct ophthalmoscopes with them. They traveled through the college’s Fellowship of Christian Optometrists (FCO) on a medical mission trip to Frome, Jamaica, where they used their skills to provide vision services at the Gamertsfelder Medical Center. This center is named after Dr. Paul Gamertsfelder, who started Men in Mission in 1974; the group responsible for constructing the center in 2008. The students were hosted by Dr. Doug McCloy, who has a practice in Marion, OH, and is heavily involved with the medical center in Jamaica.
The initiative was headed by Ty Clase, a second year optometry student. With his hard work, as well as the hard work of many other students, the trip was a great success. This was the first mission team composed of optometry students from OSU to visit the Gamertsfelder Medical Center. They brought a plethora of donated ophthalmic 
equipment much needed in the clinic. During their time on the island, the students saw 165 patients. “Our outreach days consisted of cataract surgical assessment, free clinic with full exams, and school children screening,” stated Clase. The students also served by distributing bibles and offering prayer to those who came to the clinic.
When asked about the experience, Clase informed me that he and the others grew both mentally and spiritually on the trip. “As students,” he said, ” we were exposed to diseases most of us had just read about in our textbooks. Spiritually, we grew closer in our individual faith walk.”
FCO at OSU plans to make this an annual trip as an alternative, service-based spring break. For more information on the Gamertsfelder Medical Center, please visit www.missionofsight.org.
by Dr. Brenda Montecalvo, President
“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” — Helen Keller (1880-1968)
Optometry serves many areas of eye health and vision care, including Contact Lens, Sports Vision, InfantSEE, Glaucoma, Ocular Surface Disease, Research, Education, Public Health, Private Clinical Care, Students, Corporate Eye Care, Veterans’ Eye Health and Vision Care, Armed Forces, Low Vision, Vision Therapy, and Rehabilitation. Optometry’s diversity makes our profession strong.
We need to create an organization that allows for excellent intra-professional communication and collaboration, utilizing everyone’s talents so we can best serve our patients. Our organization will remain strong if we embrace the individuality of each member. Our ultimate goal is that all patients have good vision and healthy eyes.
Although optometrists have diverse interests, we have in common the desire that all people have access to full scope optometric eye health and vision care. I would like to emphasize the importance of strong state and national optometric organizations. We must embrace the challenges we face and view them as opportunities to move the profession forward. Without a unified voice it will be difficult for optometry to prevail in the critical issues of Affordable Care Act, Electronic Health Records, Medical Home, and Accountable Care Organizations. Each issue requires detailed understanding so that optometry is at the table when important decisions are made.
A unified organization begins with listening to the concerns of all members, representing all areas of optometry, achieving 100% membership, and funding the national and state political action committees. Thank you for your support as we work together to achieve these goals.
The focus of this column has been the importance of a unified organization. There is no one better qualified to present a unified voice for optometry than Ohio’s own Dr. Bob Layman. His unique qualifications in leadership, experience and dedication make him the best candidate for AOA Trustee in 2013.
Seeing babies before one year of age and keeping Ohio’s InfantSEE program front-of-mind for parents and others involved with babies are major efforts of Ohio InfantSEE volunteers. Receiving a report that their baby has a well-functioning visual system is a wonderful assurance for a parent. InfantSEE providers also have the privilege to see those who need extra testing, remediation of an eye disease or spectacles that will affect the baby’s quality of life. 
The OOA has created an award to honor the Ohio doctor who submits the most InfantSEE on-line reports from January 1 through August 31, 2013. The on-line reports may be accessed at http://www.infantsee.org. Every time you complete an InfantSEE assessment, submit a report online. Even though Ohio leads the nation in doctors participating and infant exams, our goal is to reward the doctor who gives the most to this public health service. Thank you to all InfantSEE doctors for, as Urban Meyer would say, “Making the great State of Ohio proud!”
Visit www.InfantSEE.org to sign up to become an InfantSEE volunteer, to make sure your listing is correct, to access on-line reporting forms or for other information about InfantSEE.
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InfantSEE Week is May 13-18, 2013. Contact your zone coordinator for more information on events for the week.
The EYE 5K fun run/walk is Epsilon Psi Epsilon’s philanthropic event in support of Pilot Dogs Inc. The Pilot Dogs Inc. is a non-profit organization that trains seeing eye dogs for the visually impaired.
The event will be held at Fred Beekman Park on Sunday April 14, 2013 at 9:00am. The event is open to everyone and registration is open online at https://www.active.com/event_detail.cfm?event_id=2077624.
All participants who register by Tuesday April 2, 2013 will receive a shirt on race day. The event is in support of a great organization so make sure to tell all friends and family about the event!