The Foundation Receives Major Grants: Major Initiatives Begin
News and Notes From the Foundation
September 2005/h3>
Roy Levit, MD
American Retina Foundation Chairman
One of the Foundation's major efforts includes the goal of fostering the exchange of information between retinal specialists, their patients and other health care specialists. With this goal in mind, the Foundation invites opportunities for future projects that involve a relationship between the physician, patient and retina specialist, including patient awareness campaigns and other educational initiatives.
AMD Patient Education Project
The Foundation recently received an educational grant from Alcon Laboratories to fund an AMD campaign focused on the importance of ocular vitamin therapy for patients with moderate to severe risk of AMD. In October 2005, a select test market of ophthalmologists in Phoenix, Arizona and Tampa, Florida will receive AMD Patient Education Kits that contain a DVD, brochure, recipe cards, Amsler grid, and a coupon for vitamins. A four month local PR campaign will coincide with the kit distribution, followed by a survey and follow up calls to recipients for feedback. Kits will be revised based on the feedback received and then sent out nationally, at which time ASRS members will also receive kits.
Pediatric Training CD-ROM
In addition to the AMD patient kit campaign, The Foundation has also recently become a joint sponsor for a pediatric eye CD that will be distributed to pediatricians. This interactive video disc describes common pediatric eye diseases and eye examination techniques for infants and toddlers and will be released later in the year.
Foundation Activities at the ASRS Annual Meeting
Each year, the ASRS selects one fellow to receive a The Fellow Travel Grant, funded by the ARF. Kartik Patel, MD, from Houston, Texas was awarded this year's Travel Grant at the meeting.
Congratulations to Joseph L. Wilhelm, MD from East Lansing, Michigan, for winning a laptop. ASRS meeting attendees who donated $10 to the Foundation or bid on an auction item received a Scratch and Win card for the chance to win a Dell Inspiron laptop computer.
This year's silent auction raised $23,575 for the Foundation. The ARF gratefully acknowledges and thanks all ASRS members for their participation, as well as the companies who donated the items up for bid. A listing of winners and items and companies who donated are listed below:
SILENT AUCTION WINNERS
Umberto Albanese, MD, Snyder, NY
Laserex Laser Elbow Pads, five sets
Sheldon P. Braverman MD, San Antonio, TX
Volk Disposable Chalam Direct View® Steryl® Flat SSV Vit Lens, one box
John Carver, MD, Provo, UT
Labtician Wong Buckling Forceps
Lenin Gomez, MD, Guadalajara, Mexico
AAO Basic and Clinical Science Course Section #12: Retina and Vitreous
Roy Levit, MD, New York, NY
Two (2) Night Stay in a Junior Suite at the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth Hotel
Sanjay Logani, MD, Northridge, CA
Volk Digital Wide Field Diagnostic Ophthalmic Lens
G. Matthews, MD, Ft. Worth, TX
Alcon Greishaber® DSP Instruments, three boxes
Kenneth Moffat, MD, Nashville, TN
Millennium Leather Roller Compu-Brief donated by Occulogix
Pablo Munoz Rodriguez, Guadalajara, Mexico
Bausch & Lomb MillenniumTM Photocoagulating Green Laser
Synergetics 09.05 Low Mass Pick Forceps and 10.01 Vertical Scissors
Jeffrey S. Taylor, MD, Raleigh, NC
AAO Ophthalmic Coding Coach 2005
Tanu Thomas, MD, Chicago, IL
Cutter & Buck Leather Wine Tote donated by Priority Healthcare
Paul Weishaar, MD, Wichita, KS
Two Night Stay at the Hotel del Coronado
CONTRIBUTING COMPANIES:
Alcon Laboratories, Inc.
American Academy of Ophthalmology
Bausch & Lomb
Compass Management & Consulting, Inc.
Fairmont Queen Elizabeth
Gulden Ophthalmics
Hotel del Coronado
Labtician
Laserex
OccuLogix
Park West Gallery
Priority Healthcare
Synergetics, Inc.
Volk Optical, Inc.
Macular Degeneration Research Fellow Award Beginning in 2006, the Foundation will award a fellow $2,000 for the best macular degeneration poster at the 2006 ASRS Annual Meeting. More information about this award will be available soon.