Letter from the President
First, let me thank the AZOA membership for electing me as your President. I am excited to represent you and lead our great organization.
Our Spring Congress, as in years past, was a wonderful opportunity to meet with colleagues and vendors. We had a good turnout and the Board is grateful to see so many of you in attendance. Many of us voiced our opinions about Board Certification and its effect on the future of Optometry. It is good to see the membership interested and passionate about this topic!
On that note, our main focus for the year is to tackle the issue of 3rd party panel access. As you know, this has been an issue for years. Optometrists have had difficulty becoming providers for both private insurance plans and AHCCCS plans. Together with our Legislative and Eye Care Benefits Committees, the Board will be working very hard to achieve that goal. However, we will need your help. We need to communicate with our patients, legislators, families and friends to make this happen. It is no small task. With the kind of enthusiasm I saw in Glendale last month, I am confident we will do it.
I also want to continue to promote the importance of children’s eye examinations. By educating parents, teachers and those in healthcare the impact poor acuity and visual skills can have on learning and development, we can make a huge difference in many kids’ lives. Finally, we have worked over the last couple of years to improve our committee structure and their communication with the Board. I want to continue to improve upon this, making the AZOA even more effective and in tune with you, the members. Let us know how we can help.
Here’s to a great year!
Neha Amin, OD,
AZOA President
2009-2010