FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The American Association of Eye & Ear Hospitals Announces Strategic Planning Initiative

Arlington, VA (November 12, 2008)- During the Annual Meeting of the American Association of Eye & Ear Hospitals (AAEEH) which took place November 9 through 11, 2008 in Atlanta, Georgia, the membership conducted a strategic planning exercise. At the conclusion of this exercise the membership identified the following primary programs for the Association for 2009 through 2014: networking; education; benchmarking; government relations/lobbying; and GPO/purchasing program.

"Our specialty hospitals and institutes have experienced enormous change over the past few years. Everyone recognizes the importance of the Association to our continuing success in an increasingly challenging environment. This strategic planning effort will help our Association chart a path which will provide the most support possible to our membership. I have confidence this effort will make the AAEEH into a better organization for the members as it assists them in addressing their individual missions." Incoming Chairman Michael Gittelman, of the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, said.

It was announced that a comprehensive strategic planning initiative would be undertaken during the early months of 2009. The purpose of the strategic planning effort will be to provide direction for the Association in the identified primary areas. The members formed three working groups to accomplish the additional planning activities to address the areas of networking, education, and, benchmarking. The Benchmarking Working Group will be chaired by Joe Bilson, of Wills Eye Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Budget/Pricing Working Group is to be chaired by John Fernandez, of the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Boston Massachusetts. David Orbuch, of the Phillips Eye Institute in Minneapolis, Minnesota, will chair the Membership Criteria Working Group.

Both domestic and international executives from the AAEEH member facilities will serve on the working groups. Dissemination of the reports from the working groups is scheduled to occur at the 2009 Spring Meeting of the Association in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

During the strategic planning process, ongoing functions and services of the Association will continue at current levels. In addition, after the 2009 Spring Meeting the Association announced in intends to create an Engaging Chairs/Heads of Department Working Group to identify ways the medical chairmen of each of the AAEEH member facilities could become more involved in the activities of the Association.

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.