Volume 17, Number 2
Summer 2008
REGISTER SOON!
The 2nd Annual Glaucoma Service Foundation
CARES Conference
A Year of Progress Through Research
We are finishing up preparations for the 2nd Annual Glaucoma
Service Foundation CARES Conference – A
Year of Progress Through Research. The Conference is being held
on Saturday, September 20, 2008 on the 8th floor at Wills Eye
Institute in Philadelphia. The event will begin with registration,
continental breakfast, and exhibits at 9:00 AM. Program lectures
will begin at 10:00AM.
Topics include:
- Overview of Glaucoma
- Pseudoexfoliation and the Genetic Process
- Quality of Life
- IOP Reconsidered – Corneal Thickness and Fluctuation
- Surgical Trends
- Patient – Doctor Interactions, What the Research Tells
Us
- Compliance
- New Medications
- What Have We Learned from
- Population Studies?
Each session will end with questions and answers. As you may know,
family members of patients with glaucoma are at greater risk for
developing glaucoma. That is why we are once
gain performing glaucoma screenings for family members attending
the conference. We will also have representatives from pharmaceutical
companies, Low Vision Services, the Glaucoma Research Center and
the Glaucoma Service Foundation available to answer questions.
The 2nd Annual CARES Conference is free, but
SPACE IS LIMITED, so please register now. To register, please
call 215-928-3190 or email npanzano@willseye.org. Please include
your name, address, phone number and number of attendees. If you
have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact the
Foundation office.
We look forward to seeing you there!
2nd Annual Glaucoma Service
Foundation CARES Conference
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Wills Eye Institute, 8th Floor
9:00 AM Registration
Letter from the Executive Director
I hope this issue of Searchlight on Glaucoma finds you well.
We’ve been extremely busy at the Foundation.
We have a new addition to our staff, Ms. Katharine Woodward, the
Foundation’s Director of Development. Kate comes to the
Foundation from People’s Light and Theater Company. She
will be coordinating all of our fundraising activities. Kate brings
fundraising experience, a positive attitude and a passion for
helping prevent blindness from glaucoma. We are looking forward
to a long and successful working relationship with her.
We have also been preparing for the 2nd Annual Glaucoma Service
Foundation CARES Conference and have just welcomed
three new clinical fellows to the Glaucoma Service. In addition,
we are expanding our Board of Trustees and initiating new fundraising
programs. This is an exciting time for the Foundation and we are
happy to share with you the progress we are making in the fight
against glaucoma.
I hope that you plan to attend the CARES Conference
in September. We have new topics and believe that the need for
better education about glaucoma is greater than ever as the incidence
of glaucoma is expected to rise by over 50% in the next 12 years.
Your attendance will help make this a more successful event.
Once again, thank you for your support of the Foundation and its
programs. Together we can make a difference in the fight against
blindness from glaucoma.
Sincerely,
Nancy Panzano
A Tribute to Anne d’Harnoncourt
By: George L. Spaeth, MD
[Editor’s Note: Ms. D’Harnoncourt,
Director and CEO of the Philadelphia Museum of Art passed away
unexpectedly on June 1, 2008.]
Anne d’Harnoncourt played an active role in the celebration
of 40 years of fellowship training on the Glaucoma Service of
the Wills Eye Hospital several years ago. Part of that event took
place in the Ruth and Raymond Perelman Concert Hall at the Kimmel
Center for the Performing Arts. We had commissioned a ballet especially
for the event. Ballet, which requires extensive training, great
discipline and constant practice, and is about the celebration
of life, seemed to be an appropriate metaphor for the Fellowship
Training Program and the art of medicine, the subjects of our
celebration. Ms. d’Harnoncourt, as an individual who knows
as much about art as anybody in our city, seemed to be an appropriate
person to speak. We were thrilled when she agreed to do so.
Those of us involved in the production arrived at the Perelman
Theatre early. Ms. d’Harnoncourt was there. She looked wonderful:
tall, handsome, quite imposing, but with a warmness and sparkle
that were irresistible. I briefed her on the format of the evening,
and she asked for a few moments of quiet by herself. She went
into an adjoining room to prepare what she was going to say. When
it came time for her part on the program, she spoke with ease,
knowledge, authority and charm.
She managed to capture completely what we were
trying to achieve, not just with the event, but on the Fellowship
Training Program itself and, more importantly, in life itself.
I was in awe.
I remember speaking to her later about the Barnes Foundation,
saying that I did not really find the exhibition interesting.
She responded that there were three different levels of appreciating
the Barnes collection: those who knew nothing about art were amazed
by the collection, those who were moderately knowledgeable found
it irritating, and those who were serious about art and learning
and teaching about art considered it a treasure. Ms. D’Harnoncourt
was a treasure.
FROM THE “CHAT HIGHLIGHTS”
OF THE GLAUCOMA SERVICE WEBSITE
Glaucoma
Medications, click here to read.
Three New Clinical Fellows on the
Glaucoma Service
 Anjana
Jindal, MD received her Medical Degree from George Washington
University where she was awarded the Drake Scholarship for Ophthalmology
and the W.T. Gill Research Award. Following an internship at Georgetown
/ Washington Hospital Center she completed her ophthalmology residency
at The George Washington University where she was chief resident.
Dr. Jindal’s interest in glaucoma grew throughout her residency.
She values the opportunity to establish long-standing relationships
with a diverse group of patients by utilizing various treatment
modalities. After her clinical fellowship here at Wills, Dr. Jindal
hopes to continue her career in an academic setting where she
can continue to pursue her interest in teaching along with her
clinical and surgical endeavors.
 Parul
Khator, MD received her Medical Degree from the University
of Miami School of Medicine and completed her internship at Emory
University. She stayed at Emory for her ophthalmology residency
where she also served on the Emory Admissions Committee. Dr. Khator
has a passion for studying the field of glaucoma and wishes to
pursue an academic career and care for pediatric patients as a
facet of her practice. She believes in the value of educating
future physicians, patients, and the community and her strong
work ethic and dedication to her patients that was cultivated
during her residency along with her curiosity, artistry, and communication
skills, will undoubtedly help her throughout her career.
 Elyse
Trastman-Caruso, MD was awarded her Medical Degree from
the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and finished her internship
at Beth Israel Medical Center. She completed her residency at
The New York Eye and Ear Infirmary. Dr.Trastman-Caruso became
interested in glaucoma after her glaucoma rotation during her
residency. She is extremely interested in neuroprotection and
is committed to practicing evidence-based medicine and performing
clinical research to improve patient care. Upon completion of
her clinical fellowship, Dr. Trastman-Caruso would like to work
at an institution where she can teach residents and manage challenging
glaucoma cases. Her aspiration is to practice medicine in accordance
with the philosophy of Hippocrates; “…one can sometimes
cure, need often treat, but must always comfort.”
FUNDRAISER’S CORNER Development
Department News
It’s been an exciting 8 weeks for me since I began my job
as the new Director of Development here at the Glaucoma Service
Foundation. I am really enjoying working with the staff and physicians.
In addition, I am very excited by the many projects we have begun
to help this Foundation grow and continue in its success.
The “bread and butter” of all non-profit organization
are grant proposals. I have been very busy seeking grants for
such areas as medical research, operating support, endowment and
fellowship grants, and grants for the CARES Conferences of 2008
and 2009.
For example, in our grant requests for the CARES Conferences,
we are seeking increased funds to expand the size and scope of
the Conference due to its popularity.
We are also seeking grant monies to professionally videotape the
Conference in order to post the Conference lectures on www.willsglaucoma.org
and www.youtube.com. Finally, we are asking for funding to take
the CARES Conference “on the road,” by bringing videos
of lectures and free glaucoma screenings to African American churches
and Latino community centers in the greater Philadelphia area.
In addition to writing grant requests, I have had the wonderful
opportunity of having one-on-one meetings with many of our Board
members. I have proposed several central changes for our Board
of Trustees, including increasing the size of our Board, diversifying
the Board so that it more accurately reflects the demographics
of the disease of glaucoma, and encouraging Board members to take
a larger role in the fundraising process. For example, Board members
are often uniquely positioned to introduce fundraisersinfluence
who might be interested in donating to the Glaucoma Service Foundation.
Lastly, we are now going to include a more sophisticated Planned
Giving program in our fundraising efforts. (see next article)
This program will include an interactive planned giving web page
on our web site, a planned giving prospectus to hand out to interested
patients as they come for their appointments or to mail to interested
parties, and individualized meetings with myself to discuss trust
and estate issues as they pertain to any charitable donations
to the Glaucoma Service Foundation.
These are just a few of the many projects we currently are working
on in the Development Department here at the Foundation. Please
contact me with any questions or suggestions at kwoodward@willseye.org
or 215-928-3283. Thanks!
FUNDRAISER’S CORNER Planned Giving
Let me introduce myself – my name is Kate Woodward. I am
the new Director of Development for the Glaucoma Service Foundation.
A Director of Development is in charge of writing grants and raising
funds for the Foundation. Here at the Glaucoma Service Foundation
we are so grateful for the wonderful financial contributions so
many of our patients and Searchlight readers have made to our
organization.
The vast majority of your financial support comes to us in the
form of outright contributions. However, there are many ways to
support our Foundation and receive tax or other financial benefits
while giving to an organization you love and support. Below are
some of the different ways to give to the Glaucoma Service Foundation:
1) Through your will:
This is a legal document that declares a person’s wishes
as to the disposition of a person’s property. Known as a
“bequest,”this can be a gift of property or assets
as defined in the will. Donations to the Glaucoma Service Foundation
are exempt from federal estate taxes.
2) Donate Long-Term Appreciated Stock.
Long-Term Appreciated Stock is stock held for more than a year
and a day with a present value greater than the original purchase
price. There are two benefits to the donor. First, you avoid capital
gains tax because you are donating, not selling the stock.Second,
you get a charitable
eduction that you may declare on your tax return in the year
of your gift that reduces the amount of income tax you will owe.
3) You can donate a Retained Life Estate.
This is a gift plan defined by federal tax law allowing the donation
of a personal residence (including a vacation home) or a farm
with the donor retaining the right to “life enjoyment.”
A life estate may be retained for one or more lives or it may
be retained for a term of years. All routine expenses –
maintenance, taxes, repairs, - are the responsibility of the donor.
The benefit to the donor is that he or she receives an income
tax deduction for a significant portion of the donated property
(the property is irrevocably deeded to the charity) and estate
tax benefits.
4) Make a gift to the Foundation of a Charitable Gift
Annuity.
Here the donor makes a gift to the Glaucoma Service Foundation
of cash or property in exchange for a commitment by the Foundation
to pay income to the annuitant (the donor). The annuitant receives
a contract or agreement from the Foundation which says that the
charity will pay the annuitant a fixed income for life with payments
to start immediately or at some future date. The income paid under
the annuity is secured by the assets of the Foundation. There
are three separate benefits to the donor: first, a possible reduction
on capital gains tax; a charitable income tax reduction in the
year of the donation; and a guaranteed fixed income for life.
In the next issue of Searchlight, I will discuss several more
useful planned giving instruments when donors seek to give to
charities such as the Glaucoma Service Foundation. I look forward
to working with each and every one of our readers. Please call
me at 215-928-3283 with any questions.
IN THE NEWS
Clinical podcast featuring Jay Katz, MD
A new clinical podcast featuring Jay Katz, MD, Director of the
Glaucoma Service at Wills Eye Institute, Professor of Ophthalmology,
Jefferson Medical College, Thomas Jefferson University, is now
available at eyepodreports.com.
In Tools for Monitoring Disease Progression in Glaucoma,
Dr. Katz discusses:
- Leading methods in glaucoma monitoring and imaging with new
technologies
- IOP fluctuations and variables that impact measurements
- Structural vs functional changes in glaucoma
- Optic nerve and visual field clinical data
Clinical podcast featuring George L. Spaeth, MD
A clinical podcast featuring George L. Spaeth, MD, Louis Esposito
Professor, Wills Eye Institute, Professor of Ophthalmology, Jefferson
Medical College, Thomas Jefferson University is now available
at eyepodreports.com.
Deciding when to treat glaucoma, and what to tell patients,
is a conversation with Dr. Spaeth, who has a special interest
in the quality of life of patients with glaucoma, and insight
on
deciding when to treat.
(These cutting-edge podcasts are part of Ophthalmology Update,
a series that features exclusive conversations with experts in
ophthalmology that can be downloaded to your iPod® or MP3-compatible
device.Visit eyepodreports.com
often for the latest podcasts in ophthalmology that you won’t
find anywhere else.)
Ophthalmology Update is sponsored by Merck.
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