President’s Message

The New Year has arrived and optometrists in the State of California can now practice under the SB 1406 bill that Governor Schwarzenegger signed last year.   All aspects can be put into practice as of January 1, 2009, except for most optometrists, the glaucoma.  To review, some of the major areas are treating children, prescribing of more drugs, ordering laboratory tests, and changes requiring consultations with ophthalmologists.  As far as glaucoma prescribing, the majority of the optometrists will need to a take a case management course to complete their requirements, others will need to also take the 24 didactic course.  More details are in the letter that you should have received from the State Board of Optometry.  A copy of the bill can be found at www.optometry.ca.gov.

As I prepare this message, our new President of the United States is being inaugurated.  With that comes the hope of change for a new and better place for all.  He commented that we should all take time to serve in our communities.  I want to remind everyone that the position of President Elect is open for our Society. The responsibilities are minimal and require only a few hours a month of your time. If you are interested in serving, please contact me or one of the board members.  Any member is always welcome to come to our board meetings.

I want to thank everyone who volunteered at the South Bay Lions Club Vision Screening that was held on Saturday January 24, 2009 at Wilson Park in Torrance.  We saw 115 people and tested blood pressure, hearing, and vision.  The doctors who volunteered were Nancy Imamoto, O.D., Gail Shibayama, O.D., Gary Asano, O.D., Sarah Cole, O.D., and Deborah L. Geering-Fend, O.D.  We also had three optometric technicians, Blanca, Vida, and Jonathan.  It was a huge success and we could not have done it without the help of everyone.  Thanks again for taking the time to help and serve your community.

Deborah L. Geering-Fend, O.D.