Good afternoon NEFOS members,

NEFOS has had many inquiries regarding our continuing battle with COVID-19. We understand the impact it is having on our lives, professionally and personally. As we continue to hope for online or live virtual CE, your board members are working diligently, on a daily basis, to help and support our members by providing safe meeting environments.

We will take every precaution by providing a safe venue and modified format to protect our members who wish to attend our meetings. We will follow the same guidelines we all are using in our offices, requiring the use of face masks and social distancing. At this time, we will not host any dinner meetings.

We understand some of you still may not be comfortable attending; however, we will do our best to provide every opportunity for our members to obtain the required hours for licensure. As of now, we have meetings scheduled for September, November and a two-day Fall Fest in October. We are in communication with the Florida Board of Optometry and the Florida Department of Health, as they are aware of the ongoing challenges we are facing. I have sent a certified letter to the board representing you, our members, regarding this issue and will keep you up to date on any information I receive. Discussions and zoom meetings are ongoing on how NEFOS will provide educational hours safely and efficiently.

Below are some guidelines we will be following.

• As per CDC recommendations, we require masks be worn by all attendees and staff.
• We will provide individual water bottles or plastic cups for beverages.
• Hand sanitizer should be used as frequently as possible. Group or individual hand sanitizer is mandatory.
• Temperature checks upon arrival with forehead scanners.
• Social distancing will be maintained during each meeting/lecture with the appropriate seating arrangement. Please do not reorganize chairs as they are arranged for your safety.
• Restaurant held meetings have been cancelled at this time.
• Per CDC guidelines, any attendee who has had a fever, chills, or cough within two weeks of the event, or who has been in contact with a known COVID19 positive person, will not be permitted entrance or will be asked to leave.

Our goal is to provide a safe and healthy environment in which to conduct continuing education for our members and our attendees. We appreciate your cooperation. Dates and registration for upcoming meetings and Fall Fest are available on the NEFOS website http://nefloridaoptometry.net

I want to thank our new board members for their help, support and ideas as we make appropriate changes. And a special thank you, to our Past President, Todd Hockett. He continues to be involved and is helping to support me in my new role.

Be safe!

Warmest regards,

Christen Russell, O.D. 
NEFOS President 2020-2021