2013 AEA News

November 2013

AVL Eye 5K poster-final (3)We’ve reached our goal to raise $25K for The Low Vision Center! Thanks to all of our staff who participated in each fundraiser this year for The Low Vision Center, a non-profit. We have successfully reached our 2013 goal! The 5K and 1 mile fun run/walk was a great success with over 300 participants and we hope to have it again next year to benefit another worthy cause. Thanks also to all of our patients, families and friends who participated! We appreciate you! A final word of thanks also to our Platinum Sponsor Carolina Day School for serving as the start and finish line for the 5K, and to all of our sponsors. Check out a video from the 5K on our You Tube channel.

Wiggins Received Award from American Academy of Ophthalmology

Robert E. Wiggins, Jr., MD (pictured below)was presented with the Secretariat Award by the Asheville EyeAmerican Academy of Ophthalmology at the AAO’s 2013 Annual Meeting held November 15-20 in New Orleans. AAO. The Secretariat Award recognizes ophthalmologists for special contributions to the Academy and ophthalmology. Recipients are selected by the senior secretaries and secretaries in their respective areas and approved by the Board of Trustees. The award acknowledges those who have contributed outstanding organizational, management and/or andministrative activities in support of the Academy and ophthalmology. In addition to practicing both Neuro and Pediatric Ophthalmology, Dr. Wiggins serves as Asheville Eye Associates’ Administrator. He joined AEA in 1991.

Wiggins was also recently named to the Board of Directors of the Ophthalmic Mutual Insurance Company, which is affiliated with the AAO and is the largest provider of professional liability insurance for private ophthalmologists.

American Academy of Ophthalmic Executives

Robert E. Wiggins, Jr., MD (AEA Physician Administrator), Denise Fridl(COE, COA), AEA Chief Asheville EyePerformance Officer, and Susie Winterling(RN, CASC, AESC Administrator) presented a talk “Going Lean: Tools for Efficiency and Effectiveness in the Ophthalmology Practice” at the American Academy of Ophthalmic Executives meeting, held in conjuction with the AAO 2013 Annual Meeting. Dr. Wiggins also presented “Capital Budgeting Basics: Can I Afford This New Piece of Equipment” and hosted the AAOE Book Club: “Professional Growth and Development”. Denise Fridl also served on two AAOE panels, “Questions about EHR Implementation” and “Questions About Meaningful Use Incentives”.
Fridl_Winterling

September 2013

Coming up in October…our Run the Forest Run 5K AND 1 MILE FUN RUN!!  Register now to run the 5K or the 1 mile fun run/walk on Saturday, October 26 at 9:00am.   The course will wind through beautiful Biltmore Forest (Start and finish line will be at Carolina Day School located at 1345 Hendersonville Road.  Prizes awarded for winners in all age categories; water and snacks provided after the race.  Race jersey guaranteed to first (300) registered runners.

 

 

 

 

Runners/Walkers:  Register online at http://imathlete.com/events/runtheforestrun5k/register

Join our event on our Face book page: https://www.facebook.com/events/443469729102187/ And share it with your friends


August 2013

Update on our Fundraiser to benefit the Low Vision Center

What would you do with $5000.00 CASH?  You might find out if you purchase the winning raffle ticket for $20.00!  Raffle tickets are available at our 8 Medical Park Drive office.  We must sell 300 tickets to hold drawing (money for tickets purchased will be refunded if we don’t have a drawing); maximum 500 tickets will be sold.  Drawing will be held Friday, September 20 and the winner will receive $5,000.00 CASH!  Winner is responsible for all applicable taxes.  Call 258-1586, Ext. 2331 for more information!!!  All proceeds benefit the Low Vision Center.

Even though money doesn’t grow on trees, you might be the lucky winner of $5000.00 CASH!!!

Join Us for Run the Forest Run 5k and 1 Mile Fun Run

Come and join us for a fantastic event!  Both the 5K Race and the 1 mile Fun Run will start at Carolina Day School (1345 Hendersonville Road) and winds through scenic Biltmore Forest.  Call Katy at 258-1586, Ext. 2331 for more information.  Race jerseys guaranteed to the first 300 runners! Prizes will be awarded to top runners in all age categories.

Saturday, October 26, 9:00 a.m.

Biltmore Forest, NC

USTFA sanctioned

All proceeds benefit the Low Vision Center, a non-profit

 

Click Here to Register


July 2013

We’re excited to announce “Asheville Eye on the Arts”, a new collaboration with local artists to display their work at our 8 Medical Park Drive office.

Asheville and western NC has an incredibly rich artistic community and we’re thankful to work with some of the gifted artists in our area! The gallery provides an opportunity for us to partner with our local community and share the pleasure of the visual arts with our patients.  Installations will rotate over time and represent a range of artists and genres.

Our first installation is a group of paintings by Jonas Gerard.   Mr. Gerard’s style is generally abstract.  He creates his art in a wide variety of styles and media including Abstracts, Landscapes, Mixed Media, Sculpture and even Silks.  Born of French and Brazilian ancestry in Casablanca, Morocco, his work is now found in a number of national and international collections.  His Bicentennial Portrait of the United States, “We the People” was presented to President Gerald Ford in 1975 and is now part of the Smithsonian Collection.

Locally Mr. Gerard’s work has recently been featured in a display of new art at the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce Visitor Center.  For more information about Mr. Gerard and his art, please visit his studio in the River Arts District at 240 Clingman Avenue or visit his website at www.jonasgerard.com

The artwork is available for sale to the public – please feel free to ask us for pricing information if there is a piece you are interested in purchasing.  Also, if you are an artist (or photographer) and wish to inquire about showing your work in our gallery, please contact Katy Farlow at 258-1586, Ext. 2331.


June 2013

Thanks For Voting AEA #1!

We are honored to have been named Best Family Eye Doctor by WNC Parent Magazine Readers for the 6th straight year!!  Thanks Asheville and our western North Carolina patients; we are grateful for the recognition and are proud to provide eye care to you and your family.

June Fundraiser to Benefit the Low Vision Center

Hot Dog!!  It’s Back…our AEA hot dog Cookout!!!  Take a break from packing your lunch on Thursday, June 20 from 11am to 2pm and come on out to the 8 Medical Park Drive front lawn.  We’ll be grilling hot dogs and serving them up with chips, a cookie and a drink for $5 bucks!  All proceeds benefit the Low Vision Center (a non-profit).

For more information about the fundraiser or the Low Vision Center please contact Katy Farlow 258-1586, Ext. 2331

Patient Appreciation Days

Take time to enjoy a summer treat!  We invite you to come celebrate Patient Appreciation Days at our 8 Medical Park Drive office June 17th – 21st.

Join us for refreshments, plus drawings for FREE sunglasses, skincare gift certificate, AEA cookbook and AEA t-shirts!

Coming up in October…our Run the Forest Run 5K AND 1 MILE FUN RUN!!

Save the date!  Saturday, October 26 we’ll cap off our Low Vision Center fundraising events with our 5k and 1 mile fun run!  The course will wind through beautiful Biltmore Forest.  Stay tuned for sign-up information and more details!

 

 

 

 


May 2013

Eyes Cooking

Just in time for warm weather cookouts and dinners with friends, church picnics and family gatherings… Our AEA cookbook is now available for $15.00 each.  We are thankful for all of the yummy recipes submitted by our staff and physicians! It is an awesome collection of recipes (335!) of all types and will make a great gift (for family and friends or for your own collection!)  We’ll have cookbooks for sale at most AEA  offices.

A Collection of Recipes by Asheville Eye Associates Physicians and Staff to benefit the Low Vision Center

We’re thankful to be part of the western North Carolina community and we want to thank all of our patients, staff, physicians, family and friends who have helped support our 2013 Low Vision Center Fundraiser!

 


March & April 2013

Low Vision Fund Raiser Update

In January AEA kicked off a year of fundraising activities to benefit the Low Vision Center with our AEA T-shirt Sale!  Our goal is to raise $25K to support the Low Vision Center, a non-profit which serves patients who are blind or visually impaired in western North Carolina, South Carolina and eastern Tennessee.  The Center is a resource for those people with irreversible changes in vision that can’t be corrected with eyeglasses. Here’s a recap on both our current and recent events:  In March our “March Madness” raffle for a Samsung 40” Flat Screen TV netted over $1,000.00!  Thanks to everyone who purchased a ticket and helped make the raffle a success!  Our Easter Basket Raffle was a lot of fun and raised an additional $140.00

Bakesale April 23

(Pictured l-r)Kendra Banks (AEA Billing/8 Medical Park Drive) and Bettina Hall(AEA Business Office/8 Medical Park Drive)

Thanks to Kendra Banks (Billing/8 Medical Park Drive), our Billing Department and our Business Office staff for organizing and staffing the bake sale held April 23 at our 8 Medical Park Drive office.  In addition to AEA staffers, staff members from the Low Vision Center also donated baked goods as well as Atlanta Bread Company.  The bake sale collected $266.29.


February 2013 – Happy Valentines Day from AEA!

Thanks to all AEA staff for sharing the love on Valentine’s Day…your baking and organizing effortsraised $879.50 for the Low Vision Center!!

And thanks to our many patients who helped to Support the Low Vision Center and our AEA fundraisers!  Our Valentine’s Day Bake sale, which was held at our 8 Medical Park Drive office, was a huge success with $879.50 raised!! Congratulations to Lisa Guthrie, who spearheaded the Bake Sale planning effort, and to our entire billing department who organized the staff donations, contributed baked items, created a beautiful display of goodies to tempt passersby, and helped man the table!  Great job – our patients as well as AEA staffers and other Medical Park employees enjoyed some yummy homemade treats while they donated to a great cause which is close to all of our hearts.

AEA Billing Department
Sharing smiles along with the treats-Amanda Wilson, Tonya Madden and Kendra Banks

January 2013 – Happy New Year from AEA!!

Welcome Dr. Ben Meade!

R. Benjamin Meade, OD

AEA is pleased to welcome Robert Benjamin Meade, OD who joined our practice on January 2, 2013. A native of Leesburg, FL Dr. Meade (“Ben”), spent several years in the Northeast, where he worked and completed his optometric training in New York and Connecticut.  Dr. Meade practiced optometry in Milford, Connecticut where he worked in private practice at Rathjens Vision Care.  Recently, Dr. Meade and his wife and infant son returned to the South to be closer to family and to enjoy wonderful Western NC.  Prior to his enrollment in Optometry School in New York City Dr. Meade traveled and taught abroad and in the US.

Dr. Meade and his family are excited to be in Asheville.  “My wife Linda (a native of Spartanburg, SC) is a trusts and estates attorney.  She is continuing to work for her NY based law firm remotely,” said Dr. Meade.  “Our son Powell is a healthy, energetic 7 month old.  Powell is very happy to be in Asheville!”  The Meades have been happily married for seven years.

Following his graduation from Furman University in Greenville, SC with a Bachelor of Science degree in 2003, Dr. Meade served in the United States Peace Corps in Turkmenistan as a Community Health Teacher from 2003 to 2005.  Upon his return to the states, Dr. Meade taught biology and Chemistry at a Columbia, SC high school for two years, where he also coached the Boys’ JV soccer team.  He moved to New York, NY in 2006 where he organized and directed a scholarship program for underpriviledged Turkmen students until 2010. During that time he also attended State University of New York College of Optometry in NYC where he earned his Doctor of Optometry degree and Masters of Vision Science degree in 2011.  Dr. Meade completed his residency in Primary Eye Care and Low Vision Rehabilitation at VA Connecticut Healthcare System – West Haven Campus, where he participated in co-management of complicated ocular disease with specialists in Yale Ophthalmology’s Retina, Cornea, Glaucoma and Oculo-Plastics clinics.  He also served as a Lecturer and Presenter at the West Haven VA campus.  Dr. Meade completed his optometric internships at Philadelphia Veteran’s Administration Medical Center in Philadelphia, PA and at SUNY College of Optometry at University Eye Center, New York, NY.

We’re excited Dr. Meade has joined our AEA team and look forward to working with him! Currently, Dr. Meade will work in clinic at the 8 Medical Park Drive office on Mondays and Fridays, the Sylva office on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and in our Franklin office on Thursdays.

T-shirt Sale!

We’re kicking off a year of fundraising activities in January with our AEA.  Our goal is to raise $25k to support the Low Vision Center, a non-profit which serves patients who are blind or visually impaired in western North Carolina, South Carolina and eastern Tennessee.  In November 2012 the new Mission Low Vision center moved to an expanded facility at Industries for the Blind on Sardis Road in Asheville.  The center offers three low vision optometrists, a low vision technician and an occupational therapist certified in low vision.  The center also has a retail store which offers a range of low vision aids and adaptive technologies.  There is also a training kitchen (to help make cooking easier and safer for those with vision impairments), computer training lab, audio book lending library, and a classroom for community gatherings.

The Long Sleeve T-Shirts featuring our “Support the Low Vision Center” T-Shirt Design (crafted by AEA’s own winning design team of Trish Martin, Missie Howie, Belinda Webb and Karen Peek) are $20.00 each and are available for sale at our 8 and 21 Medical Park Drive offices, and our Arden office. All profits go to our fundraiser for the Low Vision Center.