CooperVision recently hosted its annual Educators’ Meeting at its manufacturing facility in San José, Costa Rica, marking the first time the event has taken place outside the United States. Contact lens educators from 26 different schools and colleges of optometry across the U.S., Canada, and Latin America gathered to discuss opportunities and challenges facing the next generation of eye care professionals (ECPs), and how curricula are evolving to keep and set the pace.
This year, attendees had the chance to learn more about CooperVision’s latest innovations in soft, specialty, and myopia management contact lenses, its commitment to quality manufacturing and sustainability, as well as its unceasing support and programs for academic institutions.
“As the world of contact lenses continues to evolve, we are dedicated to providing ongoing opportunities for peer-to-peer collaboration and education,” said Michele Andrews, OD, Vice President of Professional & Government Affairs, CooperVision, Americas. “Contact lens educators left Costa Rica with a better understanding of how they can individually and collectively prepare the ECPs of tomorrow.”
To kick off the meeting, Steve Rosinski, OD, Senior Manager, Professional & Academic Affairs, CooperVision, and Felicia Timmerman, OD, Senior Manager, Myopia Management, CooperVision, discussed the company’s sustainability initiatives, as well as its commitment to improve its manufacturing processes and facilities through intentional design—and continuous redesign—to reduce CooperVision’s carbon footprint. Following the presentation, attendees toured CooperVision’s state-of-the-art site, which produces the company’s popular clariti 1 day family of silicone hydrogel lenses. The 100,000-square-foot plant was LEED Gold Certified in 2022 by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC)—the most widely used green building rating system in the world.
Other members from CooperVision’s professional affairs team moderated a series of educational sessions. Topics included the innovative technology behind CooperVision’s broad portfolio of lenses, including the MyDay, Biofinity and clariti families, the company’s wide breadth of scleral and hybrid lens options, prescribing MiSight 1 day soft contact lenses and Paragon CRT orthokeratology contact lenses, and simplifying contact lens selection with OptiExpert and the CRT calculator. In addition, attendees shared best practices on how to educate students about specialty lenses in an academic setting to build confidence, and how to communicate about myopia management to both patients and parents.
“It is vital for optometric education to keep up with changes to the profession. At the Educators’ Meeting, the updates we receive and the discussions we have with our peers inspire new teaching methods and topics,” said Dr. Nicky Lai, Associate Professor of Clinical Optometry in Contact Lens Services at the Ohio State University College of Optometry. “I returned to the classroom with important information to share that will help our graduates be more effective clinically with new tools to care for their patients.”
Participating universities included: Brazil UNIFESP, Colombia University of Antonio Nariño, Inter-American University of Puerto Rico, Kentucky University of Pikeville, MCPHS, Mexico Optometry UNAM ENES, Michigan College of Optometry at Ferris State University, Midwestern AZCOPT, Midwestern CCO, New England College of Optometry, Northeastern State University Oklahoma College of Optometry, Nova Southeastern University, Ohio State University, Pacific University, Rocky Mountain University, Salus University Pennsylvania College of Optometry, Southern California College of Optometry, Southern College of Optometry, University of Alabama-Birmingham, University of California-Berkeley, University of Incarnate Word Rosenberg, University of Indiana, University of Missouri-St. Louis College of Optometry, University of Montreal, University of Waterloo, and Western University of Health Sciences College of Optometry.
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