Amir Khoshnevis, OD.

ORLANDO, Fla.—Vision Source, a North American network of independent private practice optometrists, has expanded its roster of offerings with two new programs for its membership of 4,500 optometrists and 3,000 locally owned practices. Announced at The Exchange 2024, Vision Source’s annual national meeting that was held this year from April 10 to 13 and attracted 3,100 members, staff and industry partners, the two individual programs offer the opportunity for student loan debt relief as well as employee health care benefits. See VMAIL’s additional coverage of The Exchange here.

The student loan debt relief initiative, known as the Associate OD Placement Program, enables Vision Source members to feature employer-funded tuition reimbursement as part of their associate OD compensation package. The program takes a proactive approach to helping private practice owners add associate doctors, allowing Vision Source members to access up to $150,000 in membership fee credits to earmark for associate doctor student loan repayment, along with support resources to bring on highly motivated professionals with the desire to provide patient care within a private practice setting.

"As the demand for optometric care continues to grow, Vision Source is committed to supporting its members in overcoming the challenges of finding exceptional associate doctors," said Amir Khoshnevis, OD, chief medical officer at Vision Source. "The Vision Source Associate OD Placement Program is an investment in the future of private practice optometric care. It’s a strategic solution to the growing unmet patient demand faced by many of our member practices by helping them deliver exceptional eyecare to more patients in the communities they serve."

 
 Jeff Duncan.
In addition, an Employee Healthcare Benefits program was introduced, providing practice owners with viable health plan options for themselves and their associates. All members have access to this program, the company noted, which at this time offers medical insurance benefits. Practices with at least two employees can participate. The program has kicked off and members can begin participating now.

"We leverage our member network framework to secure options for our Vision Source member practice owners versus what is traditionally available to them on the small employer group market,” noted Jeff Duncan, Vision Source general manager. "Vision Source is committed to making advancements accessible to all practice owners. Our new programs, like the Associate OD Placement Program and Employee Healthcare Benefits, aim to empower practices of all sizes."

Further enhancing the Exchange experience, Vision Source unveiled a forthcoming national Consumer Marketing Campaign, promising to equip members with tools for local marketing efforts, and streamlined access to industry savings and rebates through exclusive Vision Source vendor programs.




The Exchange also served as a platform for learning and growth, with over 20 hours of learning and development opportunities offered, complemented by appearances from acclaimed guests, including keynote speaker Jon Acuff, WNBA player Diamond DeShields, purpose-driven entrepreneurs Brad and Bryan Manning known as the 2 Blind Brothers, Ritz Carlton executive David Lynch, 2024 Team USA Olympic Pentathlon athlete Shari Hawkins, and America’s Got Talent runner-up Kristy Sellars.

Vision Source is a part of Essilor of America, which is a division of EssilorLuxottica. For more information about the Vision Source Associate OD Placement Program or the Employee Healthcare Benefits, contact Vision Source at (888) 558-2020.