Eyeworld Daily News

EW SHOW DAILY 24 ASCRS News Today Saturday, May 6, 2017 ASCRS staff has done a phenomenal job, and response so far has been great. People talk about value for their membership, and it's important that people pay attention to that. Everything I've mentioned so far is free to ASCRS members. They're all value-added services we continue to try and improve on. We also had a big focus on Young Eye Surgeons (YES). We expanded the number of courses offered, including wet labs and op- portunities for them to get together. The most recent one in Denver sold out. The response has been terrific. They communicate with each other, communicate with faculty, meet in- dustry people, and see new technol- ogies. We've had local dinner meet- ings, online education tools, and tailored webinars. New initiatives are continuing. This is a big focus for us because that's our future. Those are all new initiatives we've worked on to update our com- munications strategies and let the membership get more engaged with society. It's been a lot of work. The EyeWorld: What are some other areas of engagement at ASCRS? Dr. Solomon: We've been very active with advocacy. At the annual Fly-In, we had the largest represen- tation of any subspecialty. We've had a lot of wins with advocacy. The Government Relations Committee, led by Brock Bakewell, MD, and Nancey McCann, has been very instrumental, and they've done a terrific job. Another area for engagement has been our ASCRS Foundation, both internationally and domesti- cally. Domestically, Operation Sight has expanded this past year. The program has helped deliver more than 1,000 free cataract surgeries to needy American patients since its start 2.5 years ago. We have more than 325 volunteer surgeons now enrolled and participating. These are yet more ways for folks to get involved. EyeWorld: What do you see as a ma- jor challenge—or opportunity—for ASCRS and ophthalmology in the next couple of years? Dr. Solomon: The number one challenge will be how to survive and thrive. There are a lot of new healthcare changes coming, and we don't know what those are. I don't think Washington knows what they are either. It's going to be important for members, especially young mem- bers, to stay involved, engaged, and when the time comes, advocate in a grassroots fashion. At the end of the day, we must reduce regulatory burdens that get in the way of the patient and physi- cian interaction. We should preserve fee-for-service and the patient/ doctor relationship and get rid of regulations that are just burdensome for practices. EyeWorld: How do you see yourself staying involved with ASCRS? Dr. Solomon: I'll still be on the board another year or two. I was active as a member before, and I'm sure I'll stay actively involved. It's been an incredible honor for me to serve. The staff are motivated, and they work hard. It's been a plea- sure for me to make some changes, hopefully in a positive way, and to work with the society over this past year. EW Naturally. Working together. Dr. Solomon continued from page 21

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