(L-R) Vision Source’s Glenn Ellisor, OD; Derrick Artis, OD, MBA; and Jim Greenwood.

KINGWOOD, Texas—During The Exchange, Vision Source’s annual meeting held in Boston this week, the Texas-based optometric alliance made a number of announcements, particularly related to strategic partnerships with multiple health care organizations. The independent eyecare alliance also used the occasion of the meeting to announce the launch of its DRTV campaign with Transitions Optical and reinforce the availability of Fresh Day and Fresh Day 30 contact lenses first introduced at Vision Expo East in New York City last month.

Partnering with CoxHealth, Vision Source’s Southwest Missouri independent clinicians will provide vision and eyecare services to the five-hospital health system’s patients. “At CoxHealth, our mission is to be the regional in preventing and minimizing the effects of eye diseases such as diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma,” said Kerry Randolph, MD, medical director, Cox Regional Services and Cox HealthPlans. “This partnership demonstrates our continued commitment to providing the best health care service to our patients.”

Vision Source also recognized a milestone achievement of 5,500 patients with Logistics Health Inc. Currently CoxHealth, Baptist Health Quality Network, Arizona Care Network, Memorial Hermann Health, and WellMed have selected Vision Source to be their preferred eye health care provider.

“We are at the forefront of a healthcare revolution. This meeting’s tagline [‘where the revolution begins’], along with the location, ties in perfectly with our network’s proactive strategies to healthcare changes,” said president and CEO of Vision Source, Jim Greenwood. “So far we have aligned with multiple health care organizations, and we are in the process of establishing more integrated healthcare agreements as we extend our collaborative care model for our members and their patients.”

Vision Source, a franchisor with more than 3,500 members at more than 2,800 locations throughout the U.S., also announced the launch of its DRTV (direct response television) campaign with Transitions. The campaign, which encourages viewers to visit a website to obtain trial decals that emulate Transitions lenses on clear glasses, began during the last two weeks of March and, because of its success, will start again after the Exchange to run for two more weeks. About 20,000 patients per week are expected to visit the site and then order the decals.

The Exchange annual meeting is hosting nearly 3,000 attendees at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston, April 9-12, and a record-breaking number of vendors. For the first time this year, eight free continuing education courses are also be available. This year, Vision Source celebrates the 23rd year since its founding by Glenn Ellisor, OD.