Professional Opticians of Florida

February 2020

The last couple of months, and most especially the last two weeks, have put Opticians in Florida to the test. Toward the end of 2019, POF became aware of legislation aimed at deregulating many health care professions, ours included.

The POF Executive Director, Dee Pace along with our lobbyist Steven Geller, formulated a plan and a method for Opticians to reach out to legislatures to oppose any such deregulation. Florida Opticians, future Opticians, and specifically POF members, rose to the occasion sending over 10,000 emails and making countless phone calls in opposition to any Opticianry deregulation.

During the Governmental Oversight and Accountability Committee meeting held on February 17, 2020, POF was able to obtain a commitment that would remove health care professions from Bill SB1124. Even though all health care professions could be adversely affected by this, Dentistry was the only other profession who got involved. POF was superbly represented at the meeting by the one and only Laurie Pierce, who spoke before the committee describing exactly why Opticianry is so vital to the citizens of Florida. It is clear that the commitment to remove health care from this bill occurred because of the overwhelming response and representation of POF. Thank you to Laurie and to all of our POF members!!

On an unfortunate note, it appears that the reasons behind our efforts to protect our licensure have recently been questioned by other education providers. The mission of POF is to safeguard our licensure and provide quality education to Opticians and future Opticians throughout the state of Florida and we consistently do an exceptional job. I have proudly been a volunteer member of the POF Board of Directors for over 16 years; I and every other member of our Board, and your Chapter Directors, gladly volunteer our time to support our members and to protect our licensure. I recommend that you carefully consider who you obtain your education from in the future and stay informed on what they will do, if anything, to support your career and protect your license.

I am looking forward to seeing everyone next week at Spring Spectacle in Fort Walton Beach! Be sure to take advantage of the opportunity to earn all 20 required hours of education from highly respected practitioners and recognized industry leaders. Check out the details and register now at www.POF.org.

Jerry W. Campbell, LDO, ABOC, NCLEC

Board Certified Optician

President