Vision Source Sets August Dates for The Exchange Meeting and 30th Anniversary Celebration

KINGWOOD, Texas—With the health and safety of its members a priority, Vision Source has set the dates of its annual meeting The Exchange as Aug. 4 through Aug. 7. The four-day event is now scheduled for the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston (it had previously been scheduled to be there in mid-April). At this year’s Exchange, Vision Source also plans to celebrate the 30th anniversary of its founding.

Pegasus Equity Advisors Announces EyeCare Partners Acquisition of Several Oklahoma-Based Independent Ophthalmology Practices

EyeCare Partners makes acquisitions, AOA takes issue with NAOO’s legislative position, HG Vision makes an investment in The Power Practice, optical sales dip and Keplr Vision continues its growth spurt all topped this week’s VMAIL news feed. Click on the headlines below to catch up on anything you might have missed.

AOA Takes Issue With NAOO's Position on Legislation Related to Contact Lens Rule

NEW YORK—The American Optometric Association (AOA) has squared off against another eyecare industry organization—the National Association of Optometrists and Opticians (NAOO)—in a dispute in which the AOA calls into question whether the NAOO “can claim to be a representative organization of doctors.” The AOA’s complaint stems from the divergent views each group apparently took on an AOA-supported Contact Lens Rule Modernization Act.

Optical Sales Across the U.S. Decrease in Most Categories for the Week of Jan. 11-17, Jobson Practice Performance Tracker Says

NEW YORK—The only increase in optical sales last week (Jan. 11-17) was in the category of exams/refractions. Most other optical sales categories were down -4 index points for frame units and lens pairs and -3 index points for gross revenue. However, contact lens sales were down substantially over the course of the last week at a rate of -14 index points. Regionally, the Midwest and West suffered the largest declines in optical sales when compared with the Northeast and South, which also experienced decreases albeit at smaller rates.

Keplr Vision Continues Growth With Addition of 40 New Eyecare Partnerships in 2020

BLOOMINGTON, Ill.—Amid a challenging year for many businesses and health care providers in 2020, Keplr Vision said it finished the year with an impressive 40 new eyecare partnerships. With 65 practice locations added via those partnerships, the Keplr organization “now boasts 185 total clinical locations,” the group said in an announcement late last week. Keplr Vision said it primarily focused its expansion in the Midwest while taking stronger steps into Texas and the Pacific Northwest regions in 2020.