FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The American Association of Eye & Ear Hospitals Presents Recognition for Thomas, Orbuch, and Fine

Minneapolis, Minnesota (June 3, 2009) - The American Association of Eye & Ear Hospitals (AAEEH) Board of Directors presented two plaques recognizing two of member executives. The plaques were presented June 2, 2009 during the 2009 Spring Meeting held at the Phillips Eye Institute in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

"In recognition of the 25th anniversary of the founding of the American Association of Eye and Ear Hospitals (AAEEH) at the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary in 1983.

The first plaque was presented to Richard Thomas, of the Wilmer Eye Institute at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, Maryland, for his service as the AAEEH Chairman for the period of 2006 to 2008. "Richard has set a new standard for future AAEEH Chairs to compare with. We are grateful for his outstanding service to the membership and in support of our missions to serve patients." said Michael Gittelman, AAEEH Chairman. In his comments, Mr. Gittelman noted that Mr. Thomas continues his service to the Association as Immediate Past Chairman.

It must never be forgotten that what these institutions do for the patients they serve, is because of the miracle of medical progress - yielded in the hands of dedicated men and women."

David Orbuch, President of the Phillips Eye Institute was presented the second plaque by Mr. Gittelman, noting the many contributions Mr. Orbuch had made to the Association over the past several years. Mr. Gittelman specifically noted the work of Mr. Orbuch in dealing with changing survey standards at the Joint Commission and his outreach to other AAEEH institutions to alert them to potential survey modifications. Mr. Gittelman stated that Mr. Orbuch’s "efforts on this issue alone saved the AAEEH member institutions millions of dollars in construction and operational expenses."

The third recognition went to Allan Fine, Vice President, Strategy and Business Development at The New York Eye & Ear Infirmary, New York, New York, for his conduct of the Strategic Planning Session during the AAEEH 2008 Annual Meeting in Atlanta, Georgia. In his remarks during the presentation, Mr. Gittleman expressed the deep appreciation of the entire membership for the leadership and expertise that Mr. Fine had graciously donated to the Association as part of this year-long initiative.

The American Association of Eye and Ear Hospitals is comprised of the premier centers for specialized eye and ear procedures in the world. Association members are major referral centers, offer some of the most innovative teaching programs in the world, and routinely treat the most severely ill eye and ear patients. The mission of these specialty institutions requires them to maintain leading edge technologies, enabling them to provide highly specialized services not available in general acute care hospitals.