North Carolina
State
Board
of Examiners in Optometry
June 2-6, 2004
Myrtle Beach
,
South Carolina
The North Carolina State
Board
of Examiners in Optometry met at the Embassy Suites Hotel at Kingston
Plantation in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, June 2-5, 2004, for the purposes of
approving the applicants to take the Summer 2004 Clinical/Practicum
examinations, to finalize the examination schedule based upon the number of
approved applicants, to review and adopt the budget for the fiscal year
beginning July 1, 2004 and ending June 30, 2005, to review complaints, to
monitor continuing education during the Annual Spring Congress of the North
Carolina State Optometric Society, and for other purposes.
Present were Drs.
Scott Edwards
, President,
David Baxter
, Secretary/Treasurer,
David Anderson
,
Joel Banks
,
William Rafferty
and Ms.
Trudy Mitchell
, Members of the
Board
. Also present was Dr. John
Robinson, the
Board
’s Executive Director. Present on Thursday at the
10 A.M.
time certain as posted on the agenda was the
Board
’s attorney, Mr.
Johnny Loper
, who joined the meeting by way of conference telephone. Appearing before the
Board
at the time certain of
4 P.M.
on Thursday as posted on the agenda representing
Doctors
Vision
Center
, O.D., P.A. were Drs.
Peter Hollis
and Dr.
Chris Glendenning
. Appearing at
2:00 P.M.
on Friday at the request of the
Board
was Dr. J.
Pat Cummings
, Vice President, Professional Affairs at Vistakon, a Division of Johnson &
Johnson Vision Care, Inc.
On
Thursday, June 3, 2004
the meeting was called to order by the President at
9:20 A.M.
who then asked Ms. Mitchell to open the meeting with prayer.
On a motion by Dr. Banks seconded by Dr. Anderson, the
Minutes of the March 24, 2004 Meeting were unanimously approved.
Report of the Secretary Treasurer. The
Secretary-Treasurer presented the Budget Report that covered the period
07/01/03
through
06/01/04
. With a month remaining in the
fiscal year, Dr. Baxter noted those line items in the budget exceeding the
amounts budgeted. Most notable was
the line item titled “legal;investigative” that is a direct result of the
current litigation with the Medical
Board
. On a motion by Dr. Banks seconded
by Dr. Anderson and carried unanimously the Report of the Secretary-Treasurer
was accepted.
Report of the Investment Policy Committee:
The Committee consisting of Drs. Baxter, Anderson and Robinson reported
on their meeting with Mr. Charles Bridges of Legg Mason, the
Board
’s Investment Counselor and presented the recommendations of the Committee for
changes in the current policy that would allow the
Board
to begin to invest a portion of its funds currently in Bank Certificates of
Deposits and Money Market Accounts, whose earnings have been in a steady rate of
decline over the past several years, to a number of Mutual Funds recommended by
Mr. Bridges that have a history of earnings at or above the market over a long
period of time. Following discussion
and the answering of questions by Drs. Anderson and Baxter, a motion was made by
Ms. Mitchell and seconded by Dr. Banks that the
Board
accept the report of the Committee and that the recommendations for change in
the
Board
’s Investment Policy as recommended by the Committee be approved, said changes
in Policy to take effect at the beginning of the 2004-2005 fiscal year.
The motion carried unanimously.
Report of the Executive Director.
There are 55 applicants for the Summer 2004 examinations.
This number will require that the
Board
be in
Raleigh
for a minimum of five days, four days at the examination site and a day for set
up and a
Board
Meeting. The dates approved and
currently posted are
Friday, July 30, 2004
through
Wednesday, August 5, 2004
. Since arriving at this
meeting, he has been informed that the
McKimmon
Center
had booked the entire facility to another organization the last week in July.
Three days to conduct examinations for 55 applicants is not a realistic
option; therefore, it was recommended that the Staff in the
Board
office continue over the next several days to negotiate with the
McKimmon
Center
to find a satisfactory solution to our problem.
On a motion by Dr. Baxter seconded by Dr. Banks and carried unanimously
the report of the Executive Director was accepted.
Note:
Following the meeting in
Myrtle Beach
adequate
space was made available and confirmed
at the
McKimmon
Center
to conduct
the Summer 2004 Examinations on Friday, August 6th through Monday,
August 9th. Candidates
were notified by certified mail of the change in dates and assigned candidate
numbers and a scheduled time to appear.
Review of Complaints.
The Executive Director reported that one
probable cause investigation has resulted in the scheduling of a
pre-hearing conference which will be held in
Raleigh
on
July, 13, 2004
at
2 P.M.
Further, that a complaint had been
received in the
Board
office by way of an e-mail prior to leaving for this meeting that is likely to
result in a probable cause hearing based upon the nature of the complaint.
A committee to investigate this matter will be appointed by the President
at this meeting.
Closed Session.
At precisely
10 A.M.
Mr. Loper joined the meeting by way of a conference telephone hookup. On a
motion by Dr. Banks and seconded by Dr. Rafferty, the
Board
voted unanimously to go into closed session pursuant to B.S. 143-318.11(3) to
receive a report from Mr. Loper regarding the lawsuit with the Medical
Board
on the issue of whether optometrists may perform certain types of injections.
Mr. Loper updated the
Board
on the procedural status of the lawsuit and with his assessment of the likely
procedure and timeline if the Court were to deny the Medical
Board
’s motion to dismiss. After
responding to the
Board
’s questions and inquiries, on a motion of Dr. Anderson, seconded by Dr.
Banks, the
Board
voted to return to open session. No
action or vote was taken in this closed session.
Report of Attorney In
open session, Mr. Loper informed the
Board
that the Supreme Court of North Carolina had ruled in favor of the North
Carolina Dental
Board
in the Watkins v. North Carolina State
Dental Examiners case. The
Optometry
Board
filed an amicus curiae (“friend of
the court”) brief on behalf of the Dental
Board
in support of the proposition that, absent expert testimony, a licensing
board
such as the Dental
Board
has the necessary expertise to determine the appropriate standard of care for
its own licensed profession. This
decision, obviously, also has the potential to be favorable to the Optometry
Board
in the future.
Approval of Applicants.
On a motion by Dr. Banks seconded by Dr. Baxter and carried unanimously
the applications of the following individuals
recommended to the
Board
by the Executive Director as having applied
in a timely manner be approved conditioned upon the fact that all documents
required by the
Board
be received prior to their admission to the Summer 2004 Examinations:
Chinwendu Anukwuem
Angela Holland Bergin
Krystal Pusser Bragg
Sara Brigman
Stacy Jill Bumgarner Bryant
Laura Nicole Burke
Paul John Vincent Burt
George Nathan Butterworth
Lila Milland Cantrell
Michael David Carstens
Jamie Joseph Casper
David James Coward
Robert Pembroke Currence
My Thuan Do
Chad
James Douglas
Shirin Esmail
Bruce Lee Gladstone
Jason Aaron Gould
Mala Gundecha
Victoria Yu-Fung Ha
Benjamin Lanier
Hobbs
Stacy Renell Humberson
Cynthia Dawn Inman
Luc Emmanuel Kanicky
Jee Me Kim
Glenn Arthur Klaus, Jr.
Evan Krawitz
Lisa Claire Ledet
Jennifer Bradley Lemmon
Alexa Rawlings Lupfer
John Michael Melnyk
Vanessa Marie Mills
David Michael Mitchell
Sallie grist Mitchell
Kimberly Rae Parks
Bruce Alan Pate
Sanjay Bipinchandra Patel
Hitendra Prahladbhai Prajapati
Richard Schuyler Roush
Punam Saini
Kyle Matthew Schaub
Eva Shiau
Jessica Faye Sirak-Smith
Keisha Chermise Smith
Floyd J. Stewart, III
Arun Thoppe Subramanian
Jennifer Robyn Switak
Robert Michael Szypczak
Melissa Mokhadere Tanbakuchi
Jared Andrew Taylor
Alex Michael Wahl
Crystal Gayle Whittington
Jeffrey Scott Wilkins
Eric Yopp
Michael Qui Hui Xu
Board Office
Lease. The current lease on the
Board
office between John D. Robinson and
the State Property Office dated May 7, 2002
was for a one year term with the option to renew under the terms and
conditions set forth therein for two
additional one year terms. At its
June meeting in 2003 the
Board
voted to extend the lease for fiscal year 2003-2004 which ends
June 30, 2004
. This is the third and final year of this Agreement and the option contained
therein to renew for another year. On
a motion by Ms. Mitchell seconded by Dr. Banks and carried unanimously the terms
of the lease were approved and the lease extended for the upcoming fiscal year
beginning July 1, 2004 and ending June 30, 2005..
Budget Proposal.
Dr. Baxter presented the proposed Budget for Fiscal Year 2004-2005
prepared by the Executive Director. Action
on the Budget was postponed until after the Executive Session.
Executive Session.
On a motion by Dr. Baxter seconded by Dr. Banks and carried unanimously
the
Board
went into Executive Session at 11:55 A.M. Thursday morning, June 3, 2004 to
discuss Staff performance and salaries. In
reconvening the meeting at
12:25 P.M.
the President announced that in Executive Session the
Board
unanimously agreed that the performance of the
Board
Staff over the past year had been exemplary and that all of the
Members of the
Board
were deeply appreciative of their dedication and professionalism in the
performance of their duties.
Adoption of the Budget.
After the Executive Session, the Secretary-Treasurer then presented an
amended Budget for fiscal year 2004-2005 that included a 4 % pay increase for
the Executive Director and Administrative Secretary and an increase of $
4,000.00 in the salary of the Administrative Assistant.
Ms. Mitchell moved and Dr. Banks seconded a motion to
approve the 10% contribution
included in the amended Budget based upon salaries
to the SEP accounts of the Executive Director, Administrative Secretary
and the Administrative Assistant. The motion carried unanimously
On a motion by Dr. Banks seconded by Ms. Mitchell and
carried unanimously the amended Budget for fiscal year 2004-2005 was adopted.
Report of the Examination Review Committee. Dr.
Rafferty reported on behalf of the Examination Review Committee consisting of
himself and the Executive Director. Three
applicants who had failed the Winter 2004 Examinations appeared as scheduled in
the
Board
office. The Committee found no
compelling reason why it should recommend to the
Board
that any of the scores in question be changed. Dr. Rafferty then moved and Dr.
Baxter seconded a motion that carried unanimously that the examination scores as
reported to the candidates requesting a review of scoring are correct and that a
letter so stating be sent to them.
Request of failing candidate to combine scores of three
examinations. The
Board
Members
read and discussed the a letter to the
Board
from Steven L. Haleo, O.D. dated May 17, 2004
in which he requested that the
Board
combine the scores of three examinations. The
Board
voted unanimously to deny the request on a motion Dr. Baxter
that was seconded Dr. Anderson. Following
the vote the President instructed the Executive Director to forward the action
of the
Board
to the
Board
’s attorney, Mr. Loper, for a response to Dr. Haleo on behalf of the
Board
informing him of the
Board
’s decision in this regard.
Annual Audit. A
proposal for performing the Annual Audit by the Accounting Firm of Waters and
Piver was presented. On a motion by
Ms. Mitchell seconded by Dr. Anderson and
carried unanimously the proposal by Mr. Waters on behalf of his firm was
accepted.
Dates of Summer 2004 Examinations.
While still in
Myrtle Beach
the
Board
Staff was unable to make arrangements with the
McKimmon
Center
’s Staff for additional days or
alternate dates on which to conduct the Summer 2004 Examinations.
The
finalization of dates did not take place until the end of the following week
when the
Board
Staff was
able to obtain the space needed over a period of four days.
The dates negotiated and forwarded to the Members of the
Board
and to the Clinical Examiners were
Friday, August 6th
through Monday, August 9th with arrival on in
Raleigh
late
Thursday afternoon, August 5th.
Clinical Examiners.
There was a brief discussion concerning
persons to serve as Clinical Examiners for the Summer 2004 Examinations.
The consensus was that those individuals listed below who were the
Examiners at the Winter 2004 examinations be asked to serve.
Drs.
Kenny Bumgarner
Thomas Bull,
Ania Hamp, Robert Harding, David King,
Don MacQueen
, Maggie Metwalli,
Sandra Moore
,
Robert Rosenstein
, and
Robert Sullivan
Alternate Examiners would be determined from the list of those Examiners
who have served in the past:
Dr. Alan Price had been
recommended by Dr.
Robert Rosenstein
to be an observer and Dr.
Scott Philippe
expressed interest in coming as an observer to the Executive Director. There
were no other names presented; however, Members of the
Board
who would like to make further recommendations are to submit names to the
Board
Office in time for the Staff to schedule a day for them to come.
Board
Policy. Dr. Rafferty
presented the report of the
Board
Policy Committee. The Committee
recommended the adoption of two Policy Statements, one on the criteria used for
the approval of continuing education courses by the
Board
and the other on the use by
optometrists in the promotion of their practice
words and/or phrases indicating that they are “
Board
Certified”, “Certified in the diagnosis and treatment of eye disease” or
similar language, These Policy
Statements represent a summary of several
memoranda sent by the
Board
to licensees over the past 5 or 6 years. (Copies of the Committee’s drafts of
these Policy Statements were
circulated to the Members previously and were
in the Members’ meeting notebooks at this meeting.)
Following discussion and the answering of questions by Dr. Rafferty and
the Executive Director, Dr. Rafferty moved and Dr. Banks seconded a motion that
carried unanimously to adopt the recommended Policy on the use of the term “
Board
Certified”.
Dr. Baxter then moved and Dr. Rafferty seconded a motion that the Policy
statement regarding the criteria for classifying and approving continuing
education courses be adopted. The
motion carried unanimously.
Meeting with Representatives of
Doctors
Vision
Center
, O.D., P.A. At 4 P.M. Drs.
Peter Hollis
and
Chris Glendenning
appeared before the
Board
to request that the
Board
review a proposal for ownership of stock in an optometric professional
corporation by non-licensee employees of the professional corporation in a 401-K
retirement account, said account(s) being a “trust account without voting
privileges” held by a properly
licensed optometrist who is a stockholder in the professional corporation
offering the plan. Following the
presentation of the proposal and questions from Members of the
Board
it was determined that the proposal was too complex for any type of action at
this meeting, and that the
Board
would not be able to provide an answer until all of the ramifications such a
proposal might have concerning the
application of both state and federal law could be studied by the
Board
’s attorney and members of his firm in communication with
the attorneys representing Doctors Vision Center, O.D., P.A..
At the end of the meeting it was understood that Drs. Hollis and
Glendenning would contact their attorneys and have them contact Mr. Loper who
would counsel the
Board
as to its responsibilities in addressing the issue.
Meeting with Representative of Vistakon
At 2:00 P.M. on
Friday the
Board
met with J.
Pat Cummings
, O.D. Vice President for Profession Relations at Vistakon Division of Johnson
& Johnson Vision Care, Inc. at the request of the
Board
following information reaching the
Board
of a “Mobile Office” sponsored by Vistakon touring the campus of several
Colleges and Universities and at a number of Wal-Mart locations having Vision
Centers where “free try-ons” of colored contact lenses were offered to
the public.
Info
rmation reaching the
Board
was sketchy at best but it was known that there were
North Carolina
licensees present on at least two of the college campuses overseeing the
“try-ons”. It was noted that no
branch office licensees had been issued by the
Board
as would be required by the Law, Rules and Regulations governing the practice
of optometry in
North Carolina
. Dr. Cummings provided the
Board
with most of the information requested prior to the meeting, but due to the
short period of time between the request and his arrival he was unable to supply
everything that had been requested. Following
discussion and explanation of how the marketing of Vistakon colored contact
lenses was being done and the answering of questions from Members of the
Board
, Dr. Cummings
promised that the rest of the information that had been requested
would be forthcoming. He
assured the
Board
that there had been no future plans for the mobile office to be in the state
after its last stop at a Wal-Mart location some weeks ago; further, he stated
emphatically that there would be no
repeating of this type activity in this state on the part of his company in the
future. Use of the mobile office to
promote product will no longer be a part of Vistakon’s marketing strategy in
North Carolina
.
NBEO/ARBO/AOA Meeting.
Drs. Rafferty, and Robinson are to be attend the Annual Meeting of the
Association of Regulatory
Board
s in Optometry and the
American Optometric Association
in Orlando, June 19 -23. On a
motion by Ms. Mitchell seconded by Dr. Baxter the
registration fees, travel, hotel , 5 days meal and 5 days per diem were
authorized for the
Board
Members
for the NBEO/ARBO meetings and that the Executive Director be reimbursed for
his registration, travel, hotel and meal expenses for these meetings.
The motion carried unanimously.
Annual Meeting. The
Annual Meeting to elect officers was set for
Tuesday, June 15, 2004
at
5:30 PM
by way of a conference telephone call.
There being no further business the
Board
officially adjourned at
noon
on
Sunday, June 7, 2003
. The next meeting of the Board will
be by way of a conference telephone call on Wednesday afternoon,
June 15, 2004
at
5:30 P.M.
Approved
August 7, 2004