June 30, 2021 — EssilorLuxottica has joined the American Optometric Association (AOA)’s Health Care Alliance for Patient Safety (APS). EssilorLuxottica will contribute an annual investment of $450,000 with the goal of supporting legislative efforts to increase patient access to care and protect the integrity of the doctor-patient relationship. 

Rick Gadd, president of Essilor North America, and Fabrizio Uguzzoni, president of Luxottica Wholesale, Americas, shared the news of EssilorLuxottica’s role as a lead sponsor to the association’s House of Delegates during Optometry’s Meeting 2021 in Denver, CO this month.

Millicent Knight, O.D., Essilor’s senior vice president of customer development, and Carl Spear, O.D., Luxottica’s senior vice president of eye care, will take active leading roles within the APS as representatives of EssilorLuxottica.


“EssilorLuxottica is embarking on this opportunity to partner more closely with the AOA to advocate for doctors and patients and give vision a louder voice,” says Gadd. “We stand with the AOA to ensure patient access to care is preserved and protect the integrity of the doctor-patient relationship. It’s our commitment today to the AOA and all of its members to ensure the doctor’s eyecare agenda is preserved and private practice remains strong.”

The APS supports laws, regulations, and other public policy solutions aimed at safeguarding public health while educating patients, regulators, and legislators about the importance of the doctor-patient relationship and existing and potential threats to patients’ eye health. 

“This is the first time we’ve brought this level of support together as EssilorLuxottica, and this commitment is just the beginning of what we can accomplish together,” says Uguzzoni. “EssilorLuxottica’s goal to eradicate poor vision in a generation is predicated on the work the AOA and its members do, and like the AOA, we are dedicated and motivated to protect the longterm care of vision for the world.”

“Everyone committed to ensuring that the doctor-patient relationship continues to be recognized as the foundation for sound health care decision making can join me in thanking EssilorLuxottica, APS’s newest partner,” says AOA president Robert C. Layman, O.D. “Together, we’ll be working to educate and inform policymakers about the essential care doctors of optometry deliver to improve the health of Americans.”

For more information on the APS: patientsafetytoday.com.