Eyeworld Daily News

Sunday, April 27, 2014 ASCRS News Today by Michelle Dalton EyeWorld Contributing Writer ASOA kicks off Opening General Session with uplifting keynote speaker T he 28th annual ASOA Con- gress got started quickly with executive director Laureen Rowland, CAE, calling on attendees to reach out to one another, as ASOA members are "the brightest and most experienced minds in practice management." She said 94% of ASOA member say the value of the organization is worth more than the cost of the dues, and encouraged attendees to reach out to Board members with any concerns. Outgoing president Liz Parrott, COE, channeled a bit of history in remarking how the imminent changes in healthcare law were best summed up by Thomas Paine: "These are the times that try mens' souls." Incoming president Sondra Hoffman, COE, CPC, CMPE, called Ms. Parrott "the heart of ASOA," but added that every member she's met has offered solid sage advice when asked. Ms. Hoffman said "only through imparting knowledge will we continue to grow. We work with physicians to provide the best care possible to patients." Outgoing ASCRS president Eric D. Donnenfeld, MD, said he "deeply appreciates the passion for medicine" evident in the member- ship. "Practicing ophthalmologists need our administrators to step forward. You are an indispensible organization. You commit daily to advance our field, and you allow us as a team to accomplish our goals of saving vision." When it comes to the practice personnel, "evaluate if you're maximizing everyone's potential," Ms. Hoffman said. "People in this room truly 'get it.'" After introducing the Board of Directors and past presidents, Ms. Hoffman recognized ASOA new members and first-time attendees as well as recent COE designees. She reminded members that practices "got a hall pass" when it comes to the implementation of ICD-10, but they should forge ahead with implementation and training. "I guarantee you will leave Boston exhausted, but exhilarated," she said. "I hope the meeting is all you hope it to be." The 2014 Administrative Eyecare Editor's Choice Award was presented to Vonda Syler, COE, for her article "Getting involved in advocacy issues affecting ophthalmology today." 'Adventures in Darkness' ASOA's keynote speaker, Tom Sullivan, has been blind since birth (as a result of retinopathy of prema- turity). Mr. Sullivan is a singer, actor, and motivational speaker who truly embraces the concept that "you don't have to see to have a vision," said Bill Schurr, senior sales execu- tive, Allergan (Irvine, Calif.), who introduced his long-time friend. "No group is more important than practice administrators," he said. "Your mission is to preserve vision." He regaled the audience with tales of his youth—from having a world-renowned ophthalmologist (Frederick H. Verhoeff, MD) recom- mend his parents institutionalize him, to listening to the radio and becoming "the biggest Red Sox fan," to excelling in sports and academics at the Perkins School for the Blind (Boston). One day at school, after being sent to the principal's office for pilfering chocolate chip cookies and sharing them with his dorm mates, "I met Helen Keller. After hearing what I had done, she asked if I was a devil. I said, 'Yes.' She told me to keep it up." It was at that moment Mr. Sullivan realized the only limits he had were the ones he placed on himself. After being taunted by a local boy for playing baseball in his backyard one weekend, "I became competitively angry," he said. "No matter how complicated something was, I overcame it." Asking the audience why he brought his dog, Baron, with him, Mr. Sullivan said it exemplifies that no one succeeds alone. "Baron taught me interdepend- ence," he said. When patients enter clinic offices, "they are at a life-turning point. You manage those turning points," Mr. Sullivan said. He urged everyone to practice his main value, PRIDE. "Pride is 'per- sonal responsibility for individual daily effort,'" he said. "It's about being professional and purposeful." Finally, Mr. Sullivan said he has learned to "love being blind. I am convinced that ordinary people can do extraordinary things." EW Tom Sullivan, author, singer, actor, and blind since birth, gave his presentation on "Adventures in Darkness" at the ASOA Opening General Session.

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