Issue Management Management Issue - Illinois College of Optometry

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Z6768_01:Layout 1 3/25/08 3:48 PM Page 16 E X I T S T R A T E G Y EXIT STRATEGY An exit strategy is just as important as planning a career When one door closes, another door opens, or so the saying goes. But that doesn’t always happen with the door to an optometry office. Hundreds of optometric offices close each year largely because optometrists are not properly planning for their retirement/transition, says American Optometric Association (AOA) President-Elect, Peter H. Kehoe, OD ’84. They close their doors or sell out to an ophthalmology practice, leaving patients without optometric care. On the flip side, 80 percent of recent graduates want to own their own practice, according to an AOA member survey. Debt burden from student loans, a need for a certain level of income, and a lack of suitable buy-in and buy-out opportunities keep them from doing so. Ironically, 93 percent of established practitioners would consider a buy-in or buy-out for transitioning their practice at retirement, 77 percent are willing to help finance the sale of their practice, and 94 percent are willing to gradually transfer financial ownership of their practice to another OD, the survey found. A NEW TURN Derrald Taylor, OD ’68, retires from full-time responsibilities after 40 years at ICO ICO Matters has been kind enough to ask me to write a note regarding my many years at the College, as I retire from full-time duties and transition to my part-time role. I do so filled with emotion. 15 / ICO MATTERS SPRING 2008 To help bridge that gap, the AOA is developing a practice transition program targeting retiring doctors and their potential successors. These one-day programs at regional and national optometric meetings are designed to educate ODs about how to successfully transition into or out of practice ownership. The program, “From Start to Finish—Practice Entrance and Exit Strategies,” addresses such topics as conducting a needs assessment and financing obstacles, as well as legal and tax issues. So how should an optometrist prepare for his or her inevitable retirement? “It is recommended that you start considering a practice transition when you are at your peak earning years, when the practice has the most value and potential to support a new doctor,” explains Kehoe. Typically this occurs when the OD is in his or her mid-40s to mid-50s. It may be easier for readers to put my retirement in perspective if they know of my background. I was raised in a humble home on a small farm in northwest Iowa, where my parents sharecropped. We had little, but we had much. I graduated in a high school class of 18, but was fortunate to have some mentoring from a leading optometrist in the Midwest, Dr. Fred Kushner, NICO ’46. I entered ICO after two years of undergraduate work, not now possible. I served as senior class president and participated in as many ICO organizations as time allowed. I taught for several months before being drafted into the US Naval Reserve in 1969 and served in the eye clinic at Boston Naval Hospital for more than three years. That’s where I met my wife, Nancy, who is an RN. I then returned to an ICO full-time faculty position in August, 1972, and retired from those duties June 30, 2007. Keeping the practice current, such as investing in state-of-the-art equipment, will help ensure that it has value. “Too many doctors allow their practices to decline in the twilight years,” he says. “They do not re-invest into the practice, so it has little value to anyone else.” It is often less expensive for a young doctor to open cold versus buying an established practice that has lost its value. The other mistake many ODs make is that they believe the practice is worth more than it really is, says Kehoe. That is because many of them are counting on it to serve as their retirement account. It is imperative to assess a reasonable value to the practice, he stresses. Working with a financial planner and accountant can help. — Ruth Carol AWARDS • 1974: Honorable Discharge, U.S. Naval Reserve • 1989: Distinguished Service, The Illinois Chapter of the Association for the Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired • 2001: Melvin Jones: Lions International • 2006: 100th Anniversary Gold Medal, The Chicago Lighthouse • 2006: Humanitarian, The Illinois College of Optometry
Z6768_01:Layout 1 3/25/08 3:48 PM Page 17 E X I T S T R A T E G Y THE DERRALD TAYLOR LOW VISION AWARD “Drs. Jeff Blanco and Dennis Siemsen spearheaded an award in low vision bearing my name. That is much appreciated.” I know that many colleagues my age and current students have similar backgrounds to mine, so I wish to assure those students that the hard work is worth every minute of it. My experiences at ICO covered a gamut of duties. I taught many courses, including ocular anatomy labs, clinical procedure labs, low vision labs/lectures and in the clinic suites. I was director of the clinic for seven years and introduced our current filing system and a form of the current suite system we use. I was not really qualified for the job in terms of formal background, but simply worked hard and did the best I could. In this, I became exposed to the specialty area of optometry that is now called low vision, and that has had the greatest influence on my career. Throughout my professional life, I was aided by many people and organizations and received many awards and grants for which I am grateful (see sidebars). Now I will continue to be active as a part-time faculty member at The Institute for Clinical Research Education (ICRE) and aiding at IEI as needed, and I will be a Lions member and examiner in the ISVI clinic. My experience working in the field has shown me what we can do as professionals using our knowledge base to reduce the effects of vision impairment. When I hear the phrase “full scope optometry,” I am concerned it does not include those services we do for people with sight-reducing diagnoses. Diagnosis is the tip of the iceberg for low vision. With a basic understanding of psychosocial and optical and ocular health principles, an optometrist can change lives – and in many cases dramatically. I hope to continue to share this concept with as many students and residents who attend clinics with me, and it will remain with me as long as I can practice. LOW VISION DIPLOMATE American Academy of Optometry Low Vision Diplomate: “I highly recommend this program for optometrists who wish to refine and complete their optometric knowledge of low vision services. The support of Dr. William Brown was greatly appreciated in my effort.” THE ILLINOIS SCHOOL FOR VISUALLY IMPAIRED “The Illinois School for Visually Impaired (ISVI) in Jacksonville, Ill., has played a significant role in my professional perspective on optometry. I have served on its Advisory Council for over 23 years, and continue to do so. With Dr. Richard Umsted, former superintendent of the school, and staff, and with financial support from the Lions of Illinois Foundation, we started a pediatric low vision clinic at the school in 1976. It has been held twice each year since that time. The American Optometric Association has recently awarded two annual grants to help support the ISVI clinic, and I was named the Illinois Optometric Association Optometrist of the Year, largely due to my work in low vision around the state. “The activity at ISVI led me to securing a contract for low vision services at the Illinois Eye Institute so ICO students and residents can become familiar with serving the needs of persons with vision loss.” From a family perspective, my four grown children have or are in the process of graduating from college within the next year. They kept busy and focused on their work despite my frequent absences while they were growing up. I am very proud of them. My wife worked part time and maintained the household, and I could never repay her or express enough appreciation for her dedication to our entire family. I am fortunate to be able to continue part time as I enjoy my work in low vision in particular. I thank Drs. Scharre and Daum for the continued opportunity. Now, I look forward to a less active role at ICO, more activity with Lions and continued multidisciplinary work in low vision. But I hope to have a less hectic schedule. I have likely overlooked thanking some people, but for reasonable brevity I leave it at this. At times I try to think of everyone who has supported me in my career and with whom I have interacted, including interested students and residents who, with some extra effort, can fully realize their full clinical potential as optometrists. ICO has been fortunate over the years to have very forward-looking administrators. This has assured a stable community that I hope continues for many years to come. THE ILLINOIS OFFICE OF REHABILITATION SERVICES “In contact with federal and state programs for vocationally-aged adults and seniors, and the Illinois Secretary of State’s office, I was appointed to the Blind Services Planning Council of the Illinois Office of Rehabilitation Services. I also chaired the first Discovery Conference held in 1991. Since then, conferences have been held every two years with one exception. The December 2007 conference had more than 400 attendees. “With the help of the Illinois Secretary of State’s office and the acquaintance of Floyd Mizener, MCO ’48, with former governor Jim Edgar, the telescopic driving program for Illinois was initiated in 1985 and continues with options for some drivers to secure night driving privileges.” ICO MATTERS SPRING 2008 / 16
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Issue Management Management Issue - Illinois College of Optometry

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