State Board of Optometry Examiners public meetings in 2023
9 substantive meetings from 2023, with official agendas or minutes and plain-English summaries.
State Board of Optometry Examiners
The Louisiana State Board of Optometry Examiners is holding a meeting on December 12, 2023, at 8:30 am in New Orleans. The agenda provided contains only procedural and administrative items, with no substantive decisions or discussions listed.
The Board appointed Ms. Cahill as Executive Director and vacated a previous decision to accept certain continuing education (CE) credits. The Board also approved specific licensure requests and a license reactivation.
- Appointed Ms. Cahill as Executive Director (unanimous, Dr. Avallone not voting)
- Vacated previous decision to accept Gerner seminar CE credits and granted hardship waivers for 2024 renewals (unanimous, Dr. Sehon abstained)
- Approved licensure by endorsement for Dr. Joseph Pruitt pending Louisiana Law testing
- Disapproved licensure by endorsement for Dr. Andrea Capps May
- Approved reactivation of retired license for Travis Jones, OD
- Adopted meeting agenda (unanimous)
- Approved November meeting minutes (unanimous)
State Board of Optometry Examiners
The agenda provides notice for a meeting on November 10, 2023, in New Orleans. No specific discussion items or decisions are listed in the provided text.
The Board approved a licensure by endorsement for Dr. Joseph Pruitt and accepted continuing education hours from the Eye Surgery Center. Members also reviewed financial statements and the status of several pending rules and contracts.
- Approved Dr. Joseph Pruitt's application for licensure by endorsement (Avallone/Sehon)
- Approved 3 in-person CE hours from Eye Surgery Center presented Oct 3, 2023 (Gerdes/LaPoint)
- Deferred action on Dr. Andrea Capps May's licensure application
- Approved minutes from July, August, September, and October meetings
- Adopted the meeting agenda
State Board of Optometry Examiners
This is a procedural meeting of the Louisiana State Board of Optometry Examiners. The agenda contains only standard administrative items such as approval of minutes, financial reports, and licensing matters. No substantive policy changes or public hearings are scheduled.
- Meeting location: DeAmore Board Room, West Jefferson Medical Center, 1101 Medical Center Blvd, Marrero, LA 70072
- Contact: Dr. Gary Avallone at [email protected]
The Board approved a contract for a CPA to review corrective actions related to LLA audit reports. Members also voted to proceed with an emergency rule change regarding continuing education requirements to comply with ACT 194.
- Approved contract with Daryl Purpera, CPA for $3,600 plus expenses (unanimous)
- Approved proceeding with emergency rule submission for ACT 194 continuing education guidelines (unanimous)
- Adopted meeting agenda without changes (unanimous)
State Board of Optometry Examiners
The agenda provided contains only meeting notice and contact information. No specific discussion items or decisions were listed.
The Board approved the hiring of an Executive Director within six months and the termination of the current Secretary contract. Other key actions included approving a new licensure rule and initiating license suspensions for delinquent practitioners.
- Approved hiring an Executive Director within six months (Unanimous)
- Approved termination of Secretary contract without cause upon written notice (Unanimous)
- Approved rule for Alternate Route of Licensure with TMOD and state law exam requirements (Unanimous)
- Approved starting license suspension process for approximately 47 delinquent licensees (Unanimous)
- Approved switching accounting software to QuickBooks Online (Unanimous)
- Approved ARBO contract subject to legal changes regarding governing law and termination (Unanimous)
- Approved inquiry into unauthorized release of candidate information; appointed Dr. Sehon to lead (Unanimous)
- Approved 06/08/23 and 07/15/23 meeting minutes (Unanimous)
State Board of Optometry Examiners
The Louisiana State Board of Optometry Examiners has scheduled a meeting for July 14 and July 15, 2023. The meeting is set to take place at the Willis-Knighton Eye Institute in Shreveport.
- Meeting on Friday, July 14, 2023
- Meeting on Saturday, July 15, 2023
The board elected a new president and updated its official communication protocols following a discussion about the unauthorized release of applicant data. The board also authorized an upgrade to its accounting software and reviewed the 2023 State Board Exam results.
- Elected Dr. Gerdes as President (unanimous)
- Approved upgrade of accounting software
- Decided all official board email will be sent to the Secretary, President, and attorney
- Deferred approval of 06/08/23 minutes to next meeting
State Board of Optometry Examiners
The agenda contains only procedural boilerplate such as meeting time, location, and contact information. No substantive items for discussion or decision are listed.
The Board adopted new administrative policies to correct 2021 audit findings and ruled that corneal collagen cross-linking is within the professional scope of optometry. It also determined that candidates must pass all NBEO exam sections before taking the state board exam. Three nominees for District 1 were selected for reporting to the Governor.
- Adopted Policies & Procedures to correct 2021 LLA findings (unanimous)
- Ruled Corneal Collagen Cross-linking is within the scope of Louisiana Optometry (unanimous)
- Determined candidates cannot take State Board exam until all NBEO exam parts/sub-sections are completed
- Approved Alternate Route of Licensure rule with TMOD and state law exam requirements
- Dismissed complaint against Dr. HL (unanimous)
- Dismissed complaint against Dr. BG as resolved (unanimous)
- Selected Shelly Anastasio, Keith Sehon, and Jarrett Johnson as top three District 1 nominees
- Delayed Telehealth rule pending legislation (SB 66)
State Board of Optometry Examiners
The Louisiana State Board of Optometry Examiners is holding a meeting on April 28, 2023, at 9:30 am in New Orleans. The agenda is not provided, so only procedural or routine business is expected.
The Board approved an amended continuing education (CE) rule that allows 8 hours of online CE and adds COPE accredited courses and the NOA as acceptable sources. The Board also authorized a legal inquiry into the current Secretary's contract and issued a license upgrade to one practitioner.
- Approved license 'AT' upgrade for Lauren Stirling, OD (Unanimous)
- Approved amended CE rule allowing 8 hours of online CE and COPE accredited courses (5-1)
- Approved adding NOA as an acceptable source of CE (Unanimous)
- Approved tasking counsel to contact AG and Ethics office regarding Secretary contract (Unanimous)
- Delayed telehealth rule pending legislation (No objections)
State Board of Optometry Examiners
The agenda provided contains only meeting notice and contact information. No specific discussion items or decisions were listed.
The Board unanimously approved increasing the 2023 legal budget from $75,000 to $150,000. Members also approved travel reimbursements for training and the ARBO Annual meeting. The Board agreed to refund overpayments made by licensees who were charged fees higher than authorized for hardship requests.
- Increased 2023 legal budget from $75,000 to $150,000 (unanimous)
- Approved refund of overpayments to licensees assessed higher than authorized hardship fees (unanimous)
- Approved travel reimbursement for Dr. Avallone and Dr. LaPoint for Baton Rouge training (unanimous)
- Approved travel for board members attending ARBO Annual meeting in June 2023 (unanimous)
- Determined IPL use for treatment of eye/adnexa abnormalities is authorized for TPA level licensed optometrists
- Tabled participation in LADOJ Occupational Licensing Review Program
- Agreed to include non-agenda board diversity discussion in previous meeting minutes
State Board of Optometry Examiners
The agenda provided contains only the meeting notice, date, time, and location. There are no specific action items, proposals, or discussion topics listed.
The Board unanimously approved the 2023 budget and a contract for private investigation services. A resolution to utilize COPE and ARBO for continuing education was passed in a 3-2 vote. The Board also approved two licensure endorsements and one license reactivation.
- Approved 2023 proposed budget (Unanimous)
- Approved license issuance for two endorsement candidates (Unanimous)
- Approved resolution to utilize COPE and ARBO for continuing education (3-2)
- Approved acceptance of CE from National Optometric Association (Unanimous)
- Approved proposal for Deep South Investigation services at $100-$150/hr (Unanimous)
- Approved license reactivation following CE demonstration
- Denied motion to research board member demographics for the past 30 years (2-3)
- Tabled hardship requests until 2/24/23