By Staff
Friday, August 16, 2019 9:12 AM
OWA preps for Expo West events, SightMD makes N.Y. acquisition, Chinese tariffs to start this fall, plans underway for CL Health Week and EOA and actress Marsai Martin join forces on eye health for kids all topped this week’s
VMAIL news feed. Click on the headlines below to catch up on anything you might have missed.
By Staff
Friday, August 16, 2019 9:09 AM
HAUPPAUGE, N.Y.—
SightMD, a leading multi-specialty ophthalmology platform and a portfolio company of
Chicago Pacific Founders, said Wednesday it has formed a “strategic partnership” with
Westchester Eye Associates (WEA), a leading ophthalmology practice in Westchester County (New York state). The partnership expands SightMD's growing presence in Westchester, adding two locations and eight providers, and increases SightMD's footprint to 37 locations and more than 80 providers across the New York Tristate area. The partnership with WEA represents the 10th practice to join SightMD since it partnered with Chicago Pacific Founders in September 2018, according to the announcement.
By Staff
Friday, August 16, 2019 9:06 AM
ALEXANDRIA, Va.—Yesterday, the Trump administration set forth two sub-lists of tariff numbers included in the fourth tranche of China 301 tariffs scheduled to go into effect on Sept. 1, 2019 and Dec. 15, 2019. This means that Chinese-origin spectacle lenses, spectacle frames, sunglasses, reading glasses, eyeglasses, safety glasses, goggles and many low vision devices will be subject to an additional 10 percent tariff on those dates, according to an alert
The Vision Council sent to its members late yesterday.
By Staff
Friday, August 16, 2019 9:03 AM
NEW YORK—This year, the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s annual Contact Lens Health Week will take place from Aug. 19 to 23. The theme for this year’s campaign is “Contact Lens Health Starts With You,” and is aimed to encourage ECPs to share healthy wear and care recommendations with their contact lens patients. Together with the
American Optometric Association, the CDC will promote Contact Lens Health Week through a variety of channels, including a Facebook live stream on Monday, Aug. 19, at 2:00 p.m. EDT.
By Staff
Friday, August 16, 2019 9:00 AM
DALLAS—
Essilor of America and 14-year-old actress Marsai Martin, best known for her role on the award-winning TV comedy show "Black-ish," are raising awareness about the urgent need for children across the nation to receive total vision care this back to school season.
By Staff
Friday, August 16, 2019 12:28 AM
NEW YORK—With the year 2020 on the horizon, eyecare professionals are quickly approaching a period filled with new opportunities and challenges. An aging population, higher incidences of diseases that impact eye health and new areas of practice focus are some of the things that may herald an era of continued growth for the profession. Yet, at the same time, advances in telehealth, industry consolidation, the digital revolution and broad changes across retail in general are creating tough challenges for independent practitioners. The challenge of consolidation—involving both big corporate players and private equity-backed groups—is seen by some in the optical industry as the most pressing issue facing the independent optometrist in the current operating environment.
By Staff
Friday, August 16, 2019 12:25 AM
Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, was spotted wearing L.G.R model Suez at the gentlemen’s singles final of the 2019 Wimbledon Tennis Championships.
By Staff
Friday, August 16, 2019 12:18 AM
RANCHO CORDOVA, Calif.—VSP Optics, a division of
VSP Global, held its first-ever live UUniversity technical education event late last month in Sacramento, Calif., according to an announcement. More than 50 optometrists and opticians from all across Northern California attended the day-long event. The attendees were able to earn up to six ABO credits by participating in courses such as “The Science of Light-Reactive Lenses” and “Troubleshooting Lens Enhancements,” among others. Following upon this initial success, VSP Optics said it will take UUniversity Live to multiple cities across the country in its effort to create a unique opportunity for eyecare professionals who want to learn more about optics and/or how to simplify the dispensing process. The next UUniversity Live event is scheduled for Aug. 22 in San Francisco. For more information about this event, visit the registration site
here.
By Staff
Friday, August 16, 2019 12:15 AM
FOOTHILL RANCH, Calif.—
Oakley has announced that Derwin James Jr., free safety for the Los Angeles Chargers, has partnered with the brand. He will be the third football player to join Team Oakley, accompanying Kansas City Chiefs’ quarterback
Patrick Mahomes and Pittsburgh Steelers’ wide receiver
JuJu Smith-Schuster, as
VMAIL previously reported. 23-year-old James was drafted to the Los Angeles Chargers in the first round of the 2018 NFL draft, after playing three seasons as a Florida State Seminole. During his rookie year, James was invited to his first Pro Bowl, and was named first-team All-Pro.
By Staff
Thursday, August 15, 2019 7:00 AM
A survey for Statista by YouGov has revealed that only 52 percent of adults in the U.S. have heard of microplastics. The issue, which has been troubling environmentalists in recent years, has been garnering more attention in the media, with headlines such as “Microplastics are raining down from the sky”, or “There’s no getting away from microplastic contamination” raising awareness. So what are the 52 percent doing to reduce the production of/contact with microplastics?
Our survey revealed that the most common action is recycling (more) plastic products. Next up, almost 30 percent say they now try to avoid buying food in plastic packaging, while a similar amount of people also try to avoid consuming drinks from plastic bottles.
By Staff
Thursday, August 15, 2019 12:27 AM
PEORIA, Ill.—
Maui Jim the sunglass and eyewear supplier, announced "a significant step forward in its ongoing relationship with
VSP Global" yesterday, reporting that Maui Jim will officially be available within the VSP formulary and will be included in the VSP contract lab network. With a VSP account, users will now have a more streamlined way of placing Maui Jim orders for patients utilizing their VSP benefit. Accessing patented Maui Jim lens technologies like PolarizedPlus2, and proprietary lens materials like MauiBrilliant and Maui High Blue Light Protect will be easier, Maui Jim's announcement said.
By Staff
Thursday, August 15, 2019 12:24 AM
DENVER, Col.—
Jobson Medical Information has officially joined the Global Myopia Awareness Coalition (GMAC) as the group’s official North American media sponsor. Jobson and the 12 other members of GMAC aim to promote public awareness of childhood myopia as a treatable disease through direct to consumer channels and government awareness, NGOs, and other healthcare associations. Jobson will use its platforms—
Review of Myopia Management,
Review of Optometric Business,
Vision Monday,
20/20 Magazine—to share information about GMAC’s activities and mission with its community, with
Review of Myopia Management leading this initiative.
By Staff
Thursday, August 15, 2019 12:23 AM
The Vision Council will host a series of member meetings and events during Vision Expo West 2019. Click on the meeting name to go directly to the registration page for that event, and view the full schedule
here.
By Staff
Thursday, August 15, 2019 12:21 AM
ALEXANDRIA, Va.—Vision Expo West will introduce The Next Generation of Retailers - Speed Dating event at this year’s Show, according to an announcement from the show's organizers. For the first time ever, new and potential business owners will have the opportunity to meet one-on-one with some of the industry’s most successful independent retailers to learn the ins and outs of business ownership. New and potential business owners interested in participating can submit their application
online.
By Andrew Karp
Wednesday, August 14, 2019 8:00 AM
As smartphones and other mobile devices have become more widespread, 28 percent of American adults now report that they go online “almost constantly,” up from 21 percent in 2015, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted Jan. 8 to Feb. 7, 2019. Overall, 81 percent of Americans say they go online on a daily basis. That figure includes the 28 percent who go online almost constantly, as well as 45 percent who say they go online several times a day and 9 percent who go online about once a day. Some 8 percent go online several times a week or less often, while 10 percent of adults say they do not use the internet at all.
Adults with mobile connectivity are especially likely to be online a lot. Among mobile internet users—the 86 percent of Americans who use the internet at least occasionally using a smartphone, tablet or other mobile device—92 percent go online daily and 32 percent go online almost constantly.