At Press Time

Dr. Brennan Urges Greater Involvement

New AAO President Emphasizes Service, Volunteerism and Advocacy.

By Jerry Helzner, Senior Editor

■ Michael W. Brennan, M.D., of Burlington, N.C., is the new president-elect of the American Academy of Ophthalmology. He will succeed David Parke II, M.D., for a 1-year term beginning Jan. 1.

Addressing the Academy's annual meeting in November, Dr. Brennan urged ophthalmologists to get more involved in the wider world, through community service, volunteer humanitarian efforts and by being advocates on public policy issues that affect the medical profession and the ophthalmology community.

"Whether you read to a needy child, pound nails for Habitat for Humanity or volunteer to fly abroad, all of us need to reach deep into our reservoir of time and talent, giving without recompense. Service before self is the first professional responsibility," Dr. Brennan said. "Your personal, political advocacy is necessary to influence top policy decision makers, a second professional responsibility," he said.

Dr. Brennan practices what he preaches. In August 2006, he was the subject of an Ophthalmology Management "Giving Back" feature for his humanitarian efforts in Iraq.

A graduate of the U.S. Military Academy, Dr. Brennan received his medical degree from the University of Texas in 1978. He completed his internship in 1979 and residency in 1982 at Brooke Army Medical Center, Fort Sam Houston, Texas.

He is currently in private practice at the Alamance Eye Center, Alamance County, N.C. He is also a director and chairman of the Medical Alliance for Iraq, a volunteer physician group.

In related news, the Academy also presented Lifetime Achievement Awards to 13 ophthalmologists who have made a significant contribution to the profession. These include: Gary W. Abrams, M.D., Detroit; David H. Abramson, M.D., F.A.C.S., New York City; Mark S. Blumenkranz, M.D., Stanford, Calif.; Alexander J. Brucker, M.D., Philadelphia; Harry W. Flynn Jr., M.D., Miami; Theodore Krupin, M.D., Chicago; Marguerite B. McDonald, M.D., Lynbrook, N.Y.; Neil R. Miller, M.D., Baltimore; Robert H. Osher, M.D., Cincinnati; Gholam A. Peyman, M.D., Sun City, Ariz.; James J. Salz, M.D., Beverly Hills, Calif.; Robert L. Stamper, M.D., San Francisco, and Joel Sugar, M.D., Chicago.

Michael W. Brennan, M.D.

GIVING BACK: From Alaska to Africa

Dr. Zamber Takes on Many Challenges.

By Jerry Helzner, Senior Editor

■ Ronald Zamber, M.D., practices in Fairbanks, Alaska, the northernmost metropolitan area in the United States. It is a place where temperatures routinely drop to 50 below in the winter and where a simple vehicle breakdown can be a matter of life and death.

Add to those everyday challenges the fact that, as one of a handful of ophthalmologists in northern Alaska, Dr. Zamber is regularly confronted with a wide range of difficult eye problems and emergencies. Knowing all of this, you might wonder why he has taken on the additional task of creating a major humanitarian effort called International Vision Quest.

"My mom died at a young age," says Dr. Zamber, 47, "There were many things she wanted to do that she never got the chance to do. One thing she impressed on me was not to put things off."

With that thought in mind, the native Alaskan and former Notre Dame hockey player started International Vision Quest in 2001, just a few years after settling into practice at the Eye Clinic of Fairbanks.

"My wife, Suzan (also a native Alaskan), played a big part in the creation of International Vision Quest," notes Dr. Zamber. "She has a master's degree in clinical psychology and has done a lot of work with visually disabled kids. In fact, our first trip was to Ecuador in 1998 as part of a larger group from Oregon and it was Suzan who helped make it happen by working with Alcon to arrange a donation of the IOLs we needed for that trip."

Since that first trip, International Vision Quest has conducted several 3-to-4-week humanitarian missions to Nepal, Costa Rica and the country of Malawi in Africa. In addition to working with local physicians to provide basic eye care, International Vision Quest also gets involved with helping orphanages and with larger projects such as building water treatment facilities.

Dr. Zamber and wife Suzan with a postop cataract patient in Ecuador.

"I'm able to go on longer trips because we have good people here in Fairbanks who keep the practice going while I'm away," says Dr. Zamber. "One of our thoughts in creating International Vision Quest was to try to go to areas of the world where other ophthalmologists had not gone."

On a 2004 trip to Costa Rica, Dr. Zamber came down with a severe case of diverticulitis. He was later diagnosed with a pituitary tumor that was successfully removed. These health problems have caused him to limit his travel for the past few years.

"The health problems are getting resolved, so we are making plans to go back to Malawi next June," he says. "We had to cancel a trip to a Rotary International Eye Hospital in the Vizag region of India but we have been able to help with the financing of an addition to that facility."

Dr. Zamber says his commitment to humanitarian efforts goes back to his high school years in Anchorage when he was a student volunteer helping Tom Nighswander, M.D., treat native villagers at the Alaskan Native Medical Center.

"The people were so humble, so grateful," he recalls. "Dr. Nighswander was my mentor and we often spoke about what I could accomplish as an ophthalmologist in Alaska, so I decided at a young age that I wanted to be an ophthalmologist."

After Notre Dame, Dr. Zamber went to medical school and did his residency at the University of Washington in Seattle, where he completed a program through which young physicians make a commitment to practice in underserved communities in Alaska, Idaho or Montana.

"Being an Alaskan, I never had to make an adjustment to practice here, but we have had a number of physicians who came up here and found basic living conditions just too tough," says Dr. Zamber. "I guess I'm just one of those hardheads who like a challenge."

Readers who might wish to be involved with International Vision Quest can contact Dr. Zamber via e-mail at ivqdoc@hotmail.com.

California O.D.s to Expand Their Scope

Compromise Led to Passage of Legislation.

■ After a bitter and protracted struggle that involved intense lobbying efforts on both sides, interests representing California ophthalmologists and optometrists have hammered out compromise legislation that expands the scope of practice for O.D.s, particularly for the treatment of glaucoma.

The "California Access to Vision Bill" takes effect Jan. 1. It ends most current restrictions on glaucoma certification for O.D.s and broadens previous legislation regarding the use of therapeutic pharmaceutical agents, ophthalmic procedures and consultations.

The California Optometric Association (COA) had argued that state law had prevented O.D.s from providing optimal care to patients because it required them to see both an optometrist and ophthalmologist for several appointments. The COA said the law especially caused hardship for patients living in rural areas.

The new law expands an O.D.'s role in glaucoma care, as optometrists who meet newly relaxed certification requirements will be able to treat primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG), exfoliation and pigmentary glaucoma in patients older than age 18, and in an emergency, use oral medications to stabilize an acute angle-closure attack. Under the current law, O.D.s are only permitted to treat POAG patients older than 18. The bill will also end required comanagement with ophthalmologists for glaucoma referrals and treatment plans.