Minutes of the
January 31 –
The North Carolina State Board of Examiners in Optometry met
at the
The President called the meeting
of the Board to order at
On a motion by Dr. Rafferty seconded by Dr. Baxter it was proposed that in accordance with the provisions of NCGS 143.318.11 (a) (3) the Board go into closed session with its attorney to discuss potential litigation, to have Mr. Loper review his discussions with Mr. Thom Mansfield from the Medical Board as authorized by the Board at its last meeting, and to seek Mr. Loper’s counsel as to how the Board should proceed at this point. The motion carried unanimously.
The Board entered closed session with only Board members, Board staff and Mr. Loper present. During such closed session, Mr. Loper discussed alternative means of litigating the issue of whether properly credentialed optometrists may perform certain procedures involving the use of injections and his conversations with Mr. Mansfield on such subject, and provided advice to the Board in this regard. The Board determined to seek further advice from Mr. Loper after discussions with members of the State Optometric Society.
Following the end of the closed session, it was the
consensus of the Board that the State Optometric Society, having had a continuing
interest in the matters now subject to litigation, should be apprised of the
current situation and given the opportunity to communicate to the Board their
position on the interpretation of the scope of optometric practice as currently
stated in the General Statutes of North Carolina. To this end, the President called a special
meeting of the Board on Thursday, February 13, 2003 at 3:00 P.M. in Raleigh at
the Law Offices of Womble, Carlyle, Sandridge and Rice for the purpose of further discussion,
having given the opportunity to be heard by that date to the leadership of the
State Association.
Mr. Loper updated the members of the Board on billing issues involving denial of payment for certain procedures being billed by optometrists to Medicaid. He has not yet received a response to his last letter to Ms. Paulette Jones wherein he asked for the details of how the Department arrived at their decisions as to who would and who would not be reimbursed for procedures that fell within the scope of practice of both optometrists and ophthalmologists. As details are forthcoming the Board will be kept informed.
On a motion by Dr. Baxter and seconded by Ms. Mitchell the minutes of the November 14 – 17, 2002 meeting continued on January 2, 2003 were approved unanimously.
The President gave no formal report.
The Secretary-Treasurer presented the Budget Report for the
period covering
The Executive Director’s report, while brief, emphasized the need to remind every licensee of their responsibility to obtain a Branch Office License for each location in which they practice. It appears that there are a number of offices where licensees are going as relief practitioners without obtaining a Branch Office License. Since there are now a number of practices throughout the state that are open longer hours, including weekends and some holidays that require the hiring of relief practitioners, there is mounting evidence that some licensees are performing relief services without first obtaining the required license. There is also the need to place special emphasis on the fact that the Board’s regulations require that the Branch Office License be displayed at the location for which it was issued. Finally, Dr. Rafferty notified the office following the Asheville meeting that he has arranged his schedule to attend the Regional ARBO and SECO International Meeting February 18 – 23, 2003 in Atlanta along with the Drs. Hendrix and Robinson.
On a motion by Dr. Baxter and seconded by Dr. Banks, the report of the Executive Director was accepted unanimously.
The following licensees have not renewed their license for calendar year 2002.
Paul T. Schrum, O.D.
S. Scot Haire, O.D.
Daniel T. Brown, O.D.
Wallace, B. Guerrant, O.D.
Barry Lebowitz, O.D.
Ivan Lee, O.D.
Charles Holtzclaw, O.D.
On a motion by Dr. Edwards and seconded by Mr. Richardson, the Executive Director was directed to send each of the above licensees a certified letter at their last known address informing them that unless all fees, including penalties, for renewal of their 2002 license plus the renewal fee and penalty for the renewal of their 2003 license is received in the Board office postmarked no later than February 28, 2003, their license to practice optometry in North Carolina will be permanently revoked in accordance with the provisions of Article 6 of Chapter 90 of the General Statutes of North Carolina. The motion carried unanimously.
On a motion by Dr. Edwards, seconded by Mr. Richardson, and carried unanimously the honorarium for the Clinical Examiners for participating in the winter 2003 Examinations was approved for payment at the rate of $ 200.00 a day for the 3 days.
The following applicants, their applications having been approved, appeared for examination:
Joyce N. Adeleke, O.D.
Lila A. Cantrell, O.D.
Perry J. Castellano, O.D.
Tiffany L. Chase, O.D.
Jana L. Crim, O.D.
Jay D. Crim, O.D.
Rachel S. Dobbs, O.D.
Eric C. Dudley, O.D.
Terry W. Ellington, O.D.
Patrick K. Fahey, O.D.
Lisa Barnhart Fox, O.D.
Stephanie L. Fox, O.D.
Larry S. Golson, O.D.
Lisa E. Graybeal, O.D.
Stephen L. Haleo, O.D.
Leanne A. Levitt, O.D.
Kelly C. MacDonnell, O.D.
Tracey L. MacIntyre, O.D.
Dustan C. Martin, O.D.
Patrick M. McLaren, O.D.
Nima A. Naik, O.D.
Craig M. Poole, O.D.
A special meeting of the Board will be held in
The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Board to review the results of the Winter 2003 Examinations and for other purposes will be held in the Board office in Wallace, NC beginning Friday Evening, March 14, 2003 at 4:00 P.M. and end at 5:00 P.M. on Saturday afternoon, March 15, 2003..