Summer 2008 - ICO Worldwide - Illinois College of Optometry

E Y E O N T R U S T E E S
A Better
MOUSETRAP
ICO brings communications specialist,
Harry Sweeney, on board to help spread the
word about the College
“What good is a better mousetrap if you can’t tell anybody about it,” asks Harry Sweeney, a public relations
expert on the healthcare industry, and a new member of ICO’s Board of Trustees. “There’s the science part of
health care and the clinical work,” he continues. “And there’s the communications part, which is the glue that
holds the whole thing together.”
Sweeney would know. He has spent more than 40 years working,
“in just about every facet in products and services related to eye
care,” he says. He started as a medical writer and rep for Lederle
Labs, the former pharmaceutical division of American Cyanamid.
He and his wife, Rita, bought Dorland Advertising, a travel and
tourism advertising agency business that they transformed into a
healthcare specialty firm and leader in the development of communications
and educational programs for the eyecare field. This led to
Sweeney’s involvement in ocular pharmaceuticals and work for
Smith, Miller & Patch, Bausch & Lomb, Barnes-Hind, CibaVision,
CooperVision and Visx, among others,
For companies such as SmithKline, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Merck,
Wyeth and Proctor & Gamble/Aventis, Sweeney led public information
programs, and his company launched public health initiatives,
such as the Health Systems Agency of Southeastern Pennsylvania.
After Sweeney sold Dorland to Huntsworth, Plc of London,
England, last year, he and Rita launched South Penn Square
Associates, a healthcare consulting firm.
Along the way, Sweeney earned a law degree from New York
University, which not only has helped him through the complications
of the industry, it has facilitated his political advocacy. “I’ve
always been involved in health communications policy,” he
explains. “We’ve testified at FDA public hearings, educated elected
5 / ICO MATTERS SUMMER 2008
officials and their staffs, and supported litigation. I’m very active
now watching what’s going on politically. We have to support continued
healthcare innovation and public-private partnership, as well
as provide access for the underprivileged. It’s not an ‘either or’ situation;
it’s a very delicate balance.”
Which is one reason Sweeney became a member of ICO’s Board.
“These are exciting times for researchers in eye care, and ICO is at
the forefront of optometric education and the transfer of new ideas
into practice,” he says, “And, the College is involved actively in
Chicago, the community. That always interests me.”
So when fellow Board member and friend Rick Franz, OD ’72,
approached Sweeney about ICO, Sweeney was flattered. “He told
me about the Board, and its desire to expand the skill set of its
members,” Sweeney says. “He told me about the new Strategic Plan.
ICO’s challenges are the kind I like.”
In addition to his occupational achievements, Sweeney has lectured
and written extensively, and has been an officer and board member
of several professional organizations, including the American
Association of Advertising Agencies, American Medical Writers
Association, the Coalition for Healthcare Communication, and the
Healthcare Communication & Marketing Association, among others.