Reaching Out

Getting involved outside of the office can be good for your community—and for you.

Eyecare practices that take the time to get involved with the community—whether it be through sponsoring local events, charity work, or speaking opportunities—not only do a good deed by promoting the “healthy eyes” message to the general public, but they do good for their practice too. It’s smart business to connect with the surrounding community.

Community involvement has always been important to Mary E. Boname, OD, co-owner and co-founder of Montgomery Eye Care in Skillman, NJ. In the 14 years she’s been in practice, she’s sponsored a variety of local sports teams. She says this is something that community members notice and value. “They see that I’m the sponsor of a team their child plays on and they’re inclined to want to support me as I’ve supported their child’s team,” says Boname. “Many of the young sports players are also my patients.”

Boname has also sponsored an annual run for charity, donated to the Rotary club, and done talks with her local Girl Scout’s troop and senior center. “At the senior center I did a little presentation that introduced myself and my practice and then gave an overview of ocular conditions that older patients need to be aware of including glaucoma, dry eye, and macular degeneration,” she says. “It promoted the importance of regular examinations.”

Looking Outside of the Practice

The truth is many eyecare practitioners don’t get involved beyond the confines of their office simply because they’re too busy or they just don’t want to. But there are many opportunities to join local boards, associations, or even just give a talk. For Lori Landrio, OD., owner of Landrio & Dorman O.D, based in Merrick, NY, getting more involved and using her skills outside of the office has meant connecting with the NYS Optometric Association. Last year she became president of the Nassau County Chapter NYSOA. She says it was an opportunity for her to find ways she could help others as well as being connected within the eyecare community and making strategic decisions that would help advance the field.

Landrio says that getting involved allows eyecare practitioners to make a difference. She says that her own involvement outside of her practice has stemmed from a sense of community responsibility to her profession as well as her own personal desire to help others. She offers a personal example: “Our state is one of only two states that is not licensed to prescribe oral medications,” says Landrio. “This is very disconcerting because sometimes an oral medication is what is required because its course of action is more effective than its topical counterpart. This year a group of more than 25 optometrists and optometric students went with members of the NYSOA to lobby for the ‘Orals Bill.’ Why do this? Because if we don’t do this, who will?”

Through the NYSOA, Landrio has participated in other events as well. “As a group we have attended health fairs and community-based vision screenings for children and adults,” she says. “Our last program was on Long Island and organized through the efforts of the local senator’s office.”

But like Boname, Landrio has also been involved on her own time. “Although I don’t live in the community where my practice is located, it is my pleasure to extend myself to the local schools, churches, and other organizations that feel they can benefit from vision screenings or an educational session with me,” she says. “Recently I was invited by the PTA to a grade school learning fair during which time we spoke to five classes of elementary students about vision. We did exercises mimicking what it would be like to live without vision. We talked about how students can protect their vision and I incorporated the benefits of reading and how eyes influence learning by telling a story with and without the pictures to mimic visual deprivation. It was a great experience all around.”

Organization involvement has also been key for Brian S. Boxer Wachler, MD, director of Boxer Wachler Vision Institute in Beverly Hills. He’s served on the medical advisory board for a non-profit Keratoconus organization. “From as long as I can remember, I’ve been an advocate for prevention of disease,” says Wachler. “It is personally fulfilling for me to dispense the ‘ounce of prevention’ so people can avoid the ‘pound of cure.’ For example, for Keratoconus, we educated people about the importance of wearing sunglasses outdoors since sun exposure has been shown to increase the free radical load in the cornea which can accelerate collagen damage in Keratoconus. Another example is discussing with parents the importance of their children to wear sunglasses to prevent ultraviolet light damage to the conjunctiva, which is a risk factor for a number of these kids later suffering from chronic bloodshot eyes as adults.”

Doing Good

In the end, there’s no question that community involvement is not only a good thing to do, it’s also a strategic business move. “Getting involved in the community is so important because that’s where my patient base is,” says Boname. “The more people you interact and connect with, the stronger your patient base and patient relationships become. Word of mouth advertising is the best kind and the way to get it is through community involvement.”

But Boname says that for her it’s not just about growing her practice. Her connection to the community and her connection with patients is what she thinks healthcare should be all about. “Part of what’s missing in healthcare today is that personalized experience where you feel like your doctor really cares about you,” she says. “That’s easy for me to deliver because I’m a single doctor practice. Patients may come by just to show me pictures from their kids going to prom or a baby being born. That’s very rewarding for me.”

And Boxer Wachler and Landrio agree it’s why they got into practice in the first place. “I became a physician to help people,” says Boxer Wachler. “To me it makes sense to be involved outside my practice to spread the message of how to have healthy eyes. I feel that I am fulfilling my obligation as a physician in going outside of my practice.”