Bankruptcy, journals , hurricanes & lawsuits

I went to Presidents council Thursday with Tracie & Jennifer , we started with NEO meeting, for those not familiar this is group of Northeast states & Ohio, we discuss regional issues amongst states along with issues we see with AOA.

It appears that there will actually be a race for the open AOA trustee seat at Optometry's meeting.  Dr. Robert Layman from Ohio is running against Dr. Bill Reynolds of Tennessee , it has been years since we had a race so it could prove interesting.

Off to bourbon street for my first real Pat O'Briens hurricane , then dinner where I enjoyed an authentic New Orleans meal , complete with alligator sausage and crayfish.

Before I got on  the plane my inbox was hit with an email from AOS stating the AOA may be bankrupt & another stating the demise of The AOA journal so I anticipated a lively meeting. We began with a jazz band over breakfast and 10 hours later looking for dinner on bourbon street again.

We did get an update from  AOA President Dr. Dori Carlson as to why the journal was discontinued , basically the contract with  the publisher was up and negotiations where difficult,  the number of articles to publish was down and sponsorship was at an all time low, they did look into publishing an online version but that was even more expensive, at that time the board decided to stop publishing.

Saturday began with a 7 am breakfast update (brutal considering proximity of bourbon st) from AOA Secretary Treasurer Dr. David Cockrell, a scheduled one hour meeting that lasted two. Sparing  you the minute details AOA is not bankrupt but could use an uptick in full paying dues members.

Much discussion ensued with the AOA board about communication with the state  affliates the need to respond quickly in this age of electronic media. In the same vain I am trying to be more timely to our members with  information  from the MOA.

The keynote speaker on Saturday was Sarah Sladek author of " The end membership as we know it" , she  presented several ideas that both the AOA and MOA can use to grow membership, one of which is to eliminate the many different categories or membership levels. AOA did announce that they will be bringing several bylaw resolution changes to House of delegates in June. These need to be made public 100 days prior to house , so as soon as I can  I will make you aware of them.

We concluded the meeting with Dr. Carlson's first effort of rapid communication in letting us know the AOS filed suit against the ABO, this does include deposition of some members of the AOA board so on advice of counsel that is all she could say.

I would like to thank my in laws for watching my kids so my wife could join me for the weekend, we were able to enjoy lots of New Orleans traditions including beignets at Cafe du Mond, a carriage ride through the French Quarter and lunch at Mother's.

Talk soon

John

PS.. We have found a replacement for Megan, her name is Jennifer Levy and she will be meeting everyone shortly.

Off to Presidents council

I will be leaving for New Orleans to attend Presidents Council tomorrow morning with Tracie and Jen Thornton. I will have report when I return.   I am bringing plenty of Zantac.. hear the food is a bit spicy .

john

A 16 hour day for the MOA,

I left my house at 6:30 am to head to Annapolis to spend the day with Dr. Mel Shipp (President of the APHA). We started with breakfast at 7:30 am . I was very pleased at the number of OD's that showed up. Maybe they read my last blog!!  Numbers matter and we knocked it out of the park on this one.  We mingled with legislators for over 2 hours.

Our next meeting was "rescheduled" , lets just say politician's schedules are fluid, we headed off to lunch, joining us was Dr. Morgenstern, Jennifer Thornton, and both "Megan's" from the MOA. We had a lively discussion and Dr. Shipp gave us some wonderful ideas on how to get involved in APHA and MDPHA going forward . (borrowed that phrase from Tom Wong )

Next Dr Shipp testified in front of  the House and Senate Committees , he did an incredible job and all the law makers and lobbyist's were very impressed.  Our next meeting was to be with Dr Sharfstein from the DHMH, as schedules go, he was unable to make it , however we did have a his second in command.  we opened her eyes as to what Optometry can do and she was really impressed with our InfantSEE program.

 Then is was off to Baltimore to run my  first board meeting. As board meetings go January's is always the longest with the onset of the new year. We welcomed new GBOS President Jeremy Goldman, we had long discussions on the budget (that was fun), we also discussed HIE, VSP and the AOA (more fun). One thing is for sure there is alot of work ahead of us if we want to be a player in health care reform.
We had a special guest, Ms Maraget Hayes Director of the MDPHA, we look forward to developing a relationship with this group in the future.

One bit of sad news for the MOA, Megan Mason will be leaving us shortly to pursue a new job. She has done a wonderful job over the years  and we will miss her. It will not be easy to replace her.

I would like to thank Andy, Jen T, and Megan as they also put in the 16 hour day , I arrived home at 10;30 pm, and realized that is a long time to wear a suit.

Talk soon.

john

Numbers Matter

One more joy of being President...I get to brush up on my writing skills, and to those who know me it is not my strong suit. So here goes nothing,

First, a big thank you to the MOA volunteers and staff for pulling off a great convention. With the changes to the format and Lieutenant Governor Brown attending, a lot of additional planning was required. A thank you to Rob Stutman for leading us over the past two years. I almost had to twist his arm to turn that gavel over. I'd like to offer congratulations to all the award winners: Drs. Tracie King, Tom Wong, Bill Davis and Senator Mikulski.

If you were in attendance you know that my mantra over the next two years will be "Leave It Better than You Found It," and to help me get there we have developed a Strategic Plan. One of the goals is to increase membership in that time frame by 50 members. This may seem high, but I think it is attainable. It is a necessity if we want to accomplish our membership's main goal of scope expansion. 

As I was preparing to write this column, I read Dr. Mel Shipp's inaugural president's column for the APHA and it turns out the APHA is also in need of more members. Imagine that. Dr. Shipp states increased membership is important because numbers matter and success depends on size and strength of the organization. Our membership numbers over the last few years are stagnant at best. If each member recruited one potential member through our "Be One Get One" campaign, we could knock this goal out quickly.

One of our other goals is to get more active in the APHA and even create a vision section for the state of Maryland. The Executive Board has since joined the APHA to get the ball rolling. In the same vein, we invited Dr. Shipp to Maryland to address the General Assembly. He will be here on Tuesday, January 17. Along with the Maryland Chapter of the APHA, we are sponsoring a breakfast in his honor. You all received an invitation and I would encourage you to attend. It is early, so you can come before patient care. I would love to see a great showing because numbers matter.

I would like to thank everyone who donated to the MOA and AOA PAC during our convention. We generated over ten thousand dollars. I would like to recognize those who hit Governor status, Azman Eye Care Specialists; Ross Bregel, O.D.; Richard Edlow, O.D.; Helen Hooper, O.D.;Tracie King, O.D.; Peepers of Severna Park; Jeffrey Poland, O.D.; Jerold Wassel, O.D.; and Weinstein Eye Associates. This is a great start and of course we will continue to ask for more...because numbers matter.

Do not forget our next CE at Wilmer on Sunday, March 11, 2012. Dr. Myrowitz always puts together a great event. To register, follow this link maryland.aoa.org/x20759.xml.

Sincerely,

John Burns, O.D.
MOA President

Happy New Year, AOA hard at work

Hoping everyone had a great new year. In case you missed it  http://newsfromaoa.org/2012/01/06/medicare-crisis-averted-for-now-ods-expected-to-see-2012-pay-increase/

and if you really want to see me again.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bal-people-on-the-move-january-2012-20120103,0,6970867.ugcphotogallery

Please remember we need to see everyone in Annapolis at breakfast honoring Dr Shipp on Tuesday Jan 17th, you all should have received an invitation by now.

Off to celebrate my wife's birthday.. talk soon

john