News

We at Visionary believe that knowledge is the key to success. The contents of this page are dedicated to your personal and business enrichment. The following entries highlight education opportunities such as upcoming continuing education (CE) events, online resources and a photo collection of events that Visionary has been proud to sponsor.

It Doesn’t Get Much Better Than This at Academy 2022 San Diego

The weather was perfect, the scenery was fantastic, the exhibit hall was spectacular, the lectures were extraordinary. Best of all, attendees were excited and vibrant and completely engaged. Visionary was thrilled to be at the show and share in the energy. We met professionals from all over the world including Norway, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, Jamaica and Nicaragua to name a few. Thanks to all the interest, it was the perfect opportunity to share information about our Mesa Grande (MG) Ortho-K lens and our FAQT Scleral lens. We can’t wait to attend next year in New Orleans.

thumbnail_012FD7E61B8F407582D3A7E10DC4EFCD

thumbnail_1E7F68B3CDD2495FA085760BFFD23FED

thumbnail_1197C95DE77049D4860B3C80CAD0F887

thumbnail_E3AAF32EBD494A38900CAF170CFA13C2

thumbnail_BC8330EBADA44626A4F14F569843CD1C

2022 Annual GPLI Resident Symposium

Visionary is a strong supporter of the Gas Permeable Lens Institute (GPLI) so it is no surprise we represented at the 24th annual Contact Lens Resident Symposium held at Indiana University in August. John Belliveau, our Visionary corporate representative, tells us IU is a beautiful campus and the educators on hand for the event are the top of their field. Thirty-eight residents from all over the country attended and took part in the exceptional educational event. We’re looking forward to next year.

Visionary Awards Annual Scholarship at Marshall B Ketchum

John Belliveau was on hand to award the annual Visionary Award Scholarship to the student who demonstrates the best performance in the field of corneal contact lens. This year's award was presented to Elaine Xin on May 18th. Not only does Visionary provide the financial award but we will continue to support Dr. Xin throughout her career as a contact lens specialist.

Huge Success of 2022 Taste of the Islands

One of Orange County's most popular CE events held on May 22 was yet another big hit again. The tropical themed event hosted by Coastal Vision, complete with Luau entertainment and food, drew a large crowd to earn credits in topics such as Cataracts, Glaucoma, and Neuro-Ophthalmology. Visionary was on-hand to promote our next generation Scleral Lens design, the FAQT.

FACE to FACE GOOD TIMES at 2022 Global Specialty Lens Symposium

Our team members, James Ortiz and John Belliveau, were thrilled to attend the 2022 Global Specialty Lens Symposium (GSLS) held at the Bally's casino in Las Vegas in January. Though the attendees were wary of Covid and social distancing, excitement was still an abundance in the air. Visionary debuted our new FAQT Scleral lens that brags a proprietary comfort curve and a uniquely styled fitting set. The event ended the night with the Gas Permeable Lens Institute’s (GPLI) Rising Star reception. Tommy Pham, a famous baseball slugger who has played for the St. Louis Cardinals, Tampa Bay Rays and San Diego Padres was the key note speaker. Pham eagerly represents and promotes specialty contact lenses due to personal experience wearing keratoconus lenses that have saved and enhanced his baseball career.

ORANGE COUNTY OPTOMETRIC SOCIETY HOLIDAY CELEBRATION

Visionary was proud to sponsor and contribute to the OCOS Holiday Party this year. It was one of the most enjoyable and memorable events we’ve ever attended. The OCOS team enhanced the festivities with a Silent Auction and Trivia Game that kept the excitement level high. The proceeds of the silent auction benefitted the Special Olympics Lions Club International Opening Eyes (SOLCIOE) program of the Special Olympics Southern California. The event location at The Fifth rooftop restaurant located overlooking Disneyland was the perfect venue for adding to the energy and thrill of evening with a perfect view of the Disneyland fireworks display. Congratulations to the OCOS team!

ACADEMY 2021 BOSTON CONVENTION CENTER

We’re back! Visionary had an exciting time with a face to face adventure at the Academy 2021 at the Boston Convention Center early in November 2021. The weather was perfect and the convention hall was spectacular. We were reminded how much fun these live conventions are. We were visited by old friends, Dr. Gloria Chiu, Dr. Karen Yeung as well as our favorite DAC representative, Chris Pantle. We’re looking forward to attending more live events as we all recover from the pandemic.

NEW SCLERAL LENS DESIGN TRIALS

Earlier in the month, with the help of Dr. Shora Ansari and Dr. Elizabeth Cho, we performed trial evaluations on a new scleral lens design we have in work. The new lens is called the FAQT and it boasts a secondary base curve that enhances limbus comfort and provides options for conformity to the scleral.

VISIONARY'S IN-OFFICE SERVICES DEBUTED ON AUGUST 20TH

John Belliveau traveled to Dr. Joanne Kim’s office in Chino to demonstrate Scleral lens application and removal to Dr. Kim’s clinical staff. Maintaining COVID spread precautions, John guided the staff members through repeated practices until they were comfortable applying and removing scleral from potential patients.

VISIONARY ADDS A TOUCH OF CRAZY TO THE GPLI 22ND ANNUAL RESIDENT'S MEETING

This year’s GPLI Resident’s meeting was held virtually to protect all participants from the spread of COVID. Thirty-six residents participated in 14 hours of online education, 25 live streamed patient cases, 15 prerecorded patient cases and 3 ½ hours of social time with the CLMA ambassadors on August 7th.

To lift the weight of the COVID restrictions, Visionary threw in some comedy to keep things light. John and James donned some purple wigs and prerecorded a light-hearted lab tour. They then kept the purple wig theme throughout the online socializations with the residents. The smiles on the other side of the computer screen were so uplifting, the guys think they’ll take their wigs with them once restrictions are lifted.

VISIONARY'S SCLERAL LENS WORKSHOP

On February 23rd, Visionary held our 2nd installment of our scleral lens workshop. The workshop consisted of a hands on fitting evaluation session held by Dr. Gloria Chiu a fellow of the Scleral Lens Education Society, and an interactive insertion and removal session held by John Belliveau, consultant at Visionary. After the sessions the workshop participants were treated to a scleral lens manufacturing demonstration which always proves to be enlightening.

COASTAL VISION MOVIE CE SYMPOSIUM

It was a magical day at the AMC Orange 30 on November 24th as over 200 optometric professionals and their families gathered for education and a viewing of the new Frozen II movie. Visionary was on hand to share in the festivities and to promote our February 23rd Scleral Lens workshop.

VISIONARY HOST WESTERN UNIVERSITY'S CONTACT LENS CLUB FOR ANNUAL LAB TOUR

The ambitious and spirited optometric students at Western University joined us at our Visionary Lab for a peek into the specialty lens design and manufacturing world on November 2nd. The students were treated with a specialty lens primer presented by Valerie Lim, Resident Doctor of Optometry at Southern California College of Optometry. In addition, Frank Spors, EurOptom, MS, PhD, FAAO, Associate Professor at Western University provided an engaging lecture on the applications of Orthokeratology. Lunch time entertainment consisted of a thought-provoking game of Contact Lens Trivia Pursuit. Of course the feature of the day was the lab tour and manufacturing demonstration of a Scleral lens. At the end of the day, everyone agreed the tour greatly enhanced the understanding and knowledge of specialty contact lenses. We can’t wait until next year!

VISIONARY SCLERAL LENS WORKSHOP

Visionary successfully held their first in-house Scleral lens fitting workshop on October 6th. The unique and intimate workshop was specifically planned so that only two practitioners were in each instruction session. By the end of the day, Dr. Gloria Chiu, an SLS fellow and expert in the field of irregular cornea and ocular surface disease, had guided 16 Scleral lens fitting neophytes through the Scleral lens fit and evaluation process. John Belliveau, Visionary consultant and manufacturing expert held multiple “How To” sessions on lens insertion and removal as well as sharing care and handling tips. Special thanks to Aaron Elders at Optovue for contributing an OCT for use in the lens evaluation process. Due to the success of the workshop, another workshop is planned for late February.

VISIONARY SPONSORSHIPS

"Visionary's John Belliveau gives a warm congratulations to Bobby R. Singsongserm (2019) for earning this year's Visionary Award for outstanding research in the field of contact lenses. John is presenting along with Professor Timothy B. Edrington, OD, MS, FAAO and Professor and Interim Dean Eric J. Borsting, OD, MSEd, FAAO, FCOVD."

VISIONARY JERALY SCLERAL DAY VIEW AT SCCO

"Visionary was proud to support the Gas Permeable Lens Institute (GPLI) and Scleral Lens Education Society (SLS) with their partnered Scleral lens workshop at SCCO - Ketchum University on September 30th. The Visionary Jeraly Scleral Lens was the center of attention in the limbal clearance evaluation session of the workshop."

VISIONARY SUPPORT GPLI RESIDENTS SYMPOSIUM

“Visionary’s John Belliveau travels to Ohio State College of Optometry to support 2019 GPLI Cornea and Contact Lens Resident Symposium! The record number of attendees experienced cutting edge contact lens education and a really good time.”