Minutes of the

North Carolina State Board of Optometry

March 29, 2009

Wallace, North Carolina

The North Carolina State Board of Examiners in Optometry met in Wallace, North Carolina on Sunday, March 29, 2009, to determine the results of the Winter 2009 Clinical/Practicum Examinations and for other purposes. Present on Sunday were Drs. Joel Banks , President, William Hendrix, Secretary/Treasurer, David Anderson, Michael Clark, William Rafferty and Mr. Roger Mitchell and Ms. Mary Richardson, Members of the Board. Also present were Dr. John Robinson, the Board’s Executive Director, Janice Peterson, RN, the Administrative Secretary (Friday evening only), Mrs. Sara Roberts, the Administrative Assistant and Mr. John Dixon, the Board’s software programmer and data systems manager. Present representing the North Carolina Eye Physicians and Surgeons was Mr. Byron Nelson.

Calling the meeting to order at 9:35 A.M., Dr. Joel Banks, President of the Board offered the opening prayer before reminding the Members of the Board to re-read the “Conflicts of Interest Statement” (copies of which had been furnished to each of them) prepared by the North Carolina Board of Ethics.

Approval of Minutes On a motion by Dr. Anderson, seconded by Dr. Clark the minutes of the February 13 - 15, 2009 meeting as corrected were unanimously approved.

The Report of the President Dr. Banks stated that he did not have any thing specific to report at this time; however, he gave notice that he would be offering comments on certain agenda items at the appropriate time

On a motion by Mr. Mitchell and seconded by Dr. Anderson the remarks of the President were unanimously accepted.

The Report of the Secretary-Treasurer Dr. Hendrix presented the Budget Report for the period covering July 1, 2008 through March 27, 2009. He pointed out that the report with only three months left in the fiscal year reflects both the income and expenses to be comfortably in line with funds budgeted for fiscal year 2008-2009 with the exception of the software development being over budget and the legal expenses being under budget. Following the answering of questions from Members of the Board by Dr. Hendrix and the Executive Director, Mr. Mitchell moved and Ms. Richardson seconded a motion that the financial report as presented by the Secretary-Treasurer be accepted. The motion carried unanimously.

Report of the Executive Director In his report the Executive Director:

• Reminded the Board Members that their individual reports to the North Carolina Ethics Commission are due by April 15^th.
• Made the Board aware that he would be appearing before the Executive Council of the North Carolina Optometric Society to present the Board’s Policy on ‘Board Certification’. Further, that he would be representing the ‘con’ side of the debate over the proposal supported by the American Optometric Association and the Joint Project Board Certification Team to create a national system of ‘credentialing’ separate and apart from the credentials granted licensed optometrists in the practice of optometry by the legally constituted state boards of optometry. Under the proposal ‘Board Certification’ would be offered to all optometrists no matter the state in which they hold a valid license to practice or the scope of practice permitted under the laws of that state.
• Provided the Board with a copy of a letter from Miriam Lavelle-Sams, OD requesting that the Board in the near future allow her and her ‘colleagues’ to obtain the required 20 hours of continuing education on line.
• Presented a proposed amendment to the Board’s recently approved ‘Applicants Guide to the North Carolina Optometry Board’s Examination for Licensure’ as stated in an e-mail received in the Board office from Dr. Clark following his visit with Dr. Anthony Adams at the University of California at Berkley. The amendment would include a ‘preface’ to the guide that clarifies the fact that while not covered in the Board’s examinations, optometry’s scope of practice is broader than the subject matter covered and emphasized in this ‘Guide’.
• Reminded the Board of the May 20, 2009 date for those applicants who fail the examination who request a review of the results to appear.

On a motion by Dr. Clark seconded by Dr. Anderson the report of the Executive Director was unanimously accepted.

Telephone Conference Call with the Board Attorney. After polling the Board Members Dr. Banks determined that there was no need at this time for the Board to meet with its attorney.

Continuing Education Credit for ‘On Line’ (over the internet) Continuing Education. On a motion by Dr. Anderson seconded by Dr. Rafferty and carried unanimously the Executive Director was instructed to notify Dr. Mirriam Lavelle-Sams that the Board was not prepared to approve her request to allow the twenty hours of continuing education required annually for the renewal of a North Carolina licensed optometrist’s license to be obtained solely ‘on line’ (over the internet) ; and, further that the current allowance of four hours a year toward the total of twenty hours will remain in unchanged.

Applicant’s Guide to the Board’s Clinical/Practicum Examination. On a motion by Dr. Clark seconded by Dr. Rafferty a ‘Preface’ to the recently adopted ‘Applicant’s Guide’ as submitted by Dr. Clark was unanimously approved.

Executive Session to Review the Scoring and Results of the Winter 2009 Clinical/Practicum Examinations. At 10:45 A.M. on a motion by Dr. Hendrix seconded by Dr. Clark and carried unanimously, the Board went into Executive Session in accordance with NCGS 143-318.11(a)(1) to review of the scoring and results of the Winter 2009 Clinical/Practicum Examination. At 11:35 A.M. the Board returned to open session. No motions were made and no action was taken while in closed session.

Having reviewed the results of the Winter 2009 Examinations in closed session, it was moved by Mr. Mitchell and seconded by Dr. Clark that the following candidates be notified of their having achieved a passing score on the Winter 2009 Clinical/Practicum Examinations and that they be duly licensed to practice the profession of optometry in North Carolina and that their names be entered in the Board Registry with license numbers assigned as follows:

Juan R. Canizales, O.D. #2129

Rachelle Leigh Davis, O.D. #2130

Urvi Joshi, O.D. #2131

Stephen Patrick Kaluzne, O.D. #2132

John T. Krempecki, O.D. #2133

Jennifer D. Nowak, O.D. #2134

Kimberly L. Oncavage, O.D. #2135

Amee Unmesh Patel, O.D. #2136

Leslie Worthington Singer, O.D. #2137

Jo’Ann Todd, O.D. #2138

Chonda Washington, O.D. #2139

The motion carried unanimously.

Declaratory Ruling Request. The President and Executive Director gave a brief update of the work being done to prepare the Board’s response to the request for a Declaratory Ruling regarding ‘remote examinations including refractions’ at locations other than in a practitioner’s office.

Report of the Board’s Software Consultant and Data Systems Manager. Mr. John Dixon reported that he had completed the re-writing of the Board’s data management system; however, because of the way Microsoft’s sequal server management system handles ‘date queries’, sorting by month, day, year and time, there are two programs he must write to circumvent Microsoft’s way of sorting that are unique to the Board’s new operating system. The Board’s system requires the ability to handle ‘date queries’ by sorting by either the year or the month without having to enter in the day and time . To ‘go around’ Microsoft’s way of handling queries will require between 40 and 50 hours of programming. When this programming is complete the system will be ready for ‘full testing’ after which time the ‘Ernie/Toby’ system can be safely shut down. Should any problems be encountered related to the core system (not including changes to forms and navigation) they will be corrected without further expense to the Board.

Mr. Mitchell moved and Ms. Richardson seconded a motion that Mr. Dixon’s report be accepted. The motion carried unanimously.

Revocation of Licenses. On a motion by Dr. Hendrix seconded by Mr. Mitchell and carried unanimously the following licenses were revoked for non-payment of the 2008 renewal fees:

Buford W. Kidd, O.D.

Thomas W. Stewart, O.D.

John C. Whitener, O.D.

Return to Executive Session to Discuss the Revision of the Examination Data Base. On a motion by Dr. Clark seconded by Ms. Richardson the Board voted unanimously to go into closed session in accordance with NCGS 318-11(a)(1) for the purpose of reviewing the recommendations for change and updating the Board’s examination data base. Dr. Rafferty distributed a copy of the Committee’s work on the examination data base. After going through the data and obtaining a consensus for a number of substantive changes, the President assigned himself and Dr. Anderson the task of working with the Executive Director and the Staff in the Board office to finalize the changes to be made. If possible the changes will be made so that they are reflected in the selection of the cases to be presented to the applicants for the Summer 2009 clinical/practicum examinations. The Board then returned to open session.

New Business. The Executive Director called the Board’s attention to the fact that the Annual ARBO meeting will be held in Washington less than one week following the Board’s June meeting and that for those who will be attending to make travel and hotel reservations Board approval to register for and to attend the meeting should be made before adjournment of this meeting.

Association of Regulatory Boards in Optometry Meeting. It was

noted that Dr. Rafferty is a Member of the Board of Directors of ARBO and as its current Secretary/Treasurer his expenses in attending the meeting will be paid by ARBO, and further that the registration fee for the Executive Director who is a Life Member of ARBO will be waived. After a brief discussion Dr. Anderson made the following motion: that travel, five days meal , four hotel nights and registration expenses for the Administrative Secretary and up to two Members of the Board appointed by the President to attend the ARBO meeting be approved. Further, that the expenses of the Executive Director who is to remain for the meeting of the House of Delegates of the American Optometric Association starting on the day following the adjournment of the ARBO meeting be approved. Finally, five days per diem for the Board Members authorized by the President to attend is authorized. The motion was seconded by Mr. Mitchell and carried unanimously.

The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Board will be at the Kingston Plantation and Resort in Myrtle Beach, S.C. with arrivals on Wednesday afternoon, June 10, 2009 with the meetings starting at 9:00 A.M. on Thursday, June 11, 2009 and ending no later than 2:00 P.M. on Sunday, June 14, 2009. On a motion by Dr. Hendrix seconded by Dr. Rafferty and carried unanimously registration, travel, 4 hotel nights and 5 days meal expenses were approved for the Members of the Board and the Executive Director. Board Members are entitled to 5 days per diem for their attendance.

The Annual Meeting of the Board for the purpose of electing officers for fiscal year July 1, 2009 through June 30, 20010 will be held in the Eton Room at the Embassy Suites Hotel at Kingston Plantation in Myrtle Beach, S.C. at noon on Thursday, June 11, 2009.

There being no further business at 3:40 P.M. Mr. Mitchell moved and Dr. Hendrix seconded a motion that the meeting be adjourned. The motion carried unanimously.

Approved 06/11/09

Myrtle Beach, SC