CRCH has had a long relationship with the New England College of Optometry (NECO). CRCH was proud to participate in and help sponsor NECO’s recent celebration marking 50 years of commitment to community-based training. Back in the early 1970s progressive optometrists were pushing back against the tradition of optometry practice scope and leaning toward a broader scope of practice that included the detection, diagnosis, and treatment of ocular diseases. NECO capitalized on the momentum and responded with transformational updates to its clinical curriculum with the goal of developing optometry students to become primary eye care providers and training them in community-based settings like CRCH and other community health centers. Over the years, many optometry students have received valuable training and on-site experience through the NECO-CRCH partnership and graduates like Dr. Jonathon Jimmerson, our Vision Director, and Dr. Hilary Gaiser and Dr. Stacy Lyons are CRCH providers and are continuing the tradition of training the next generation of optometry providers. CRCH Board member, Caroline Grossman, was recently interviewed about her experiences as a patient of CRCH’s Vision Department and Dr. Jimmerson and you can see a 1 minute video of the interview here that was also shared during NECO’s event.
