- The Presbyopian Spring 2017
R.S.V.P for Member's Only CE:
Volume VI
When​: Wednesday March 29, 2017. 6:30 PM
Location​: Kingfish Restaurant
201 SOUTH B STREET
San Mateo, CA 94401
San Mateo County Optometric Society
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Topic​: Dr. Jeff Machat, MD, from NVISION Eye Center
will be speaking on "In Depth Consultations"
This ​free 2 CE hour ​event is for SMCOS members
only, if you are interested in joining or transferring into
our society, ​please submit an application​ or email us at
[email protected]
WHAT’S HAPPENING AT SMCOS
President: Radbert Chin
President-Elect: Matthew Wong
Immediate-Past President:
MinJung “MJ” Lew
Treasurer: Elizabeth Cheng
Secretary: Serena Cox
Membership Chair: Tammy H. Nguyen
social media Chair: Van Huynh
C.E. Chair: Clarissa Sin
Site Coordinator: Olga Mukha
Speaker Coordinator: Alfred Vong
Sponsorship Coordinator:
Nilam Patel Bansal
Optometry School Liaison:
Surbhi Bansal
Newsletter: Jen Lin
✦
Sanctuary City Letter sent to San Mateo City Council
“Dear City Council Members,​
​RE: “Sanctuary City” considerations
As members of the San Mateo County Optometric Society (SMCOS), we have
been committed to providing the highest quality eye and health care to your
constituents in San Mateo County for countless years. Every city in San Mateo
County is represented by a number of our dedicated providers, who exam,
diagnose and treat eye diseases and disorders in addition to managing systemic
health issues such as Diabetes and Hypertension, to name but a few.
Our oath of service of which we are bound by our profession knows no
boundaries in relation to whom we examine and treat in our community.
The recent political climate associated with changes in our leaders at the Federal
Government level, has caused great concern across our country and in particular
California…and more specifically in all of the cities and towns that make up San
Mateo County. While this letter is not intended to solve all of the problems
associated with immigration issues…it is intended to extend to our local leaders
where our members stand regarding the recent considerations local cities are
facing with deciding to be or not to be a “Sanctuary City”.
It takes an entire community consisting of both “white collar” and “blue collar”
workers to make each city viable and fully functional. While we may think
otherwise; each person rich or poor adds something valuable to our communities
to make them work at the highest level. Therefore, it is all of our responsibilities,
especially our leaders, to be absolutely certain that all of the individuals who make
up our community feel safe and secure.
It is the position of the SMCOS that in keeping with the commitment we all have
promised to our community, that we are in support of our leaders adopting a
legally binding position to protect ALL of our community members.
We are all aware that our local population consists of more non-documented
immigrants than we care to acknowledge. It should also be stated, in all fairness,
that we are not opposed to having non-documented individuals who have
committed serious felonies (and quite frankly we wouldn’t object to all serious
felons…documented or non-documented) removed from our community. But, our
cities cannot and should not put local, viable, community serving individuals in
harm’s way because of a policy passed down from our Federal Government. In
the words of the preamble to the Constitution of the United States of America it
clearly states, "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more
perfect Union, establish Justice, ensure domestic Tranquility, provide for the
common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of
Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for
the United States of America." Nowhere in this preamble does it state that we are
ensuring domestic tranquility and promoting general welfare only for documented
individuals in our community. This statement was meant for all individuals living in
our community.
We are a diverse interracial, intercultural community which in actuality is the
strength of our society, particularly here in our local cities and towns which make
up San Mateo County. As with any decision you as community leaders deem
appropriate for our county and individual cities; we will always support what is
morally and ethically correct as “the right thing to do”.
We as community leaders ourselves are looked upon to support and make a
stand for what we believe is right for the thousands of individuals we see in our
community. The SMCOS looks forward to working with you in any way to help
support the process of making individuals in our community who are documented
or non-documented feel safer and more secure so that we can all continue to
benefit from their existence here in San Mateo County.
Sincerely,
San Mateo County Optometric Society
(SMCOS)
P​RESIDENT’S​ M​ESSAGE
Community Participation
No matter our politics, as optometrists we are all caring for people. All
sorts of folks are our patients, rich and poor, of many diverse
backgrounds. Sanctuary cities are about helping people in our
community. It’s a bigger issue than just San Mateo of course, but we’re
the San Mateo Optometry society so we’re sending this letter to our city
council.
Sincerely,
Radbert Chin, O.D.
Thank You to our Platinum Member Sponsor:
Dr. Jeff Machat is a world-renowned ophthalmology leader
who has dedicated his career to the advancement and development of laser vision
correction technology and techniques. Board-certified in Canada and the United
States, Dr. Machat was the visionary co-founder of TLC Eye Centers, which under his
leadership grew to become the country's largest laser vision correction provider.
Dr. Machat, a former medical director for Optical Express, the largest LASIK provider
in Europe, most recently served as chief medical director of Toronto-based ​Crystal
Clear Vision™​, a state-of-the-art treatment, research and teaching facility he founded
in 2012. As a top educator, Dr. Machat lectures extensively worldwide and has helped
train thousands of doctors.
One of the first ophthalmologists in North America to perform laser vision correction,
Dr. Machat has treated more than 600 optometrists, ophthalmologists and physicians
and has personally performed more than 60,000 laser vision correction procedures to
date. He has developed many of the innovations that currently benefit today's
surgeons and patients.
Dr. Machat practices out of our locations in ​Murrieta​, ​Concord (LASIK Custom Vision)
and ​Foster City (LASIK Custom Vision)​.
Samaritan House
Optometrist volunteers needed
If any ODs can come and help Samaritan House out,
please email Silvia Pratt at:
4031 Pacific Blvd, San
Mateo, CA 94403
[email protected]
Upcoming SMCOS Meetings
April Meeting
May Meeting
​April 26, 2017
​May 24, 2017
Speaker: Dr. Jane Kuo, OD.
Topic: Glaucoma Co-Management
Speaker: Dr. John Gonzales, OD.
Topic: Uveitis
Location: ​Divino Ristorante Italiano
(968 Ralston Avenue, Belmont, CA 94002)
Location: ​Chez Saigon
(1316 El Camino Real, Belmont, CA 94002)
BAOC - UC Berkeley Mentorship Program
Program Mentors in SMCOS
​Dr. Nilam Bansal - New Mentor
Dr.Karen Collum - Returning Mentor
Dr. Richard Hom - Returning Mentor
Dr. Carole Hong - Returning Mentor
Dr. Randall Lum - Returning Mentor
Thank You to our Gold Level Sponsor:
Makers of:
Assembly Member Kevin Mullin Fundraiser
Please join Dr. Andrew Soss and the California Optometric Association
for an evening reception supporting
Assembly Member Kevin Mullin
Friday April 28th, 2017
6pm-7pm
Soss Residence
5 Sandra Road
Hillsborough, CA 94010
Fundraiser Contribution levels:
Please ​RSVP​ Julie Andrade: ​[email protected]​ or 916 266 5031
Membership News
Welcome New Members!
Dr. Surbhi Bansal
​Dr. Samantha Bautista
Dr. Aristides Carcamo
Dr. Josephine Huang
Dr. Aimee Mesenburg
Dr. Jennifer Quirante
Thank You to our Gold Level Sponsor:
An OCT for Every Practice Setting
Makers of AngioVue, Avanti, iVue, iFusion, iScan & iWellness
Continuing Education for A Cause
Proceeds support
CE Lecture (2 hours)
M​EMBER​ P​ROFILE
Nilam Patel Bansal
Meet Dr​. ​Nilam Bansal, OD! She
graduated from Houston College of
Optometry and before that received her
bachelor's degree from University of
Arizona. A new resident of San Mateo,
she has lived in Albuquerque, New
Mexico and Austin, Texas. We are
lucky to have her support here as she
takes on the role of Sponsorship
Coordinator of the San Mateo
Optometric Society, and if we are very
lucky she will make salsa and
guacamole for the SMCOS BBQ.
Nilam enjoys cooking and
exploring the Bay Area with
her husband.
Save the Date
ANNUAL SMCOS BBQ
Noon - 2:30 pm
Location TBD
Rumors heard of a Taco Cart
Thank You to our Silver level Sponsors:
Event Photos
Holiday Party 2016
Bay Area Optometric Council
Thank You to our Bronze level Sponsors:
San Mateo County Optometric Society
www.smcos.org
Friend us on facebook:
​SMCOS Facebook
Suggest an article:
Send an Email