NASHVILLE, TN - PECAA, a nationwide Doctor Alliance Group for Independent Doctors, held its 9th Annual Meeting May 18 - 20 at the OMNI Hotel in Nashville, TN. The PECAA Annual Meeting takes place in a different US city each year, and this years backdrop was Music City USA, where over 600 members, vendors, staff and guests immersed themselves in the culture and camaraderie of the unique destination.
PECAA’s Annual Meeting boasts dynamic speakers, continuing education, intimate Peer-to-Peer breakouts, hands on workshops and an expansive vendor exhibit hall. This year’s event was the first time PECAA hosted separate breakout sessions for both managers and staff in addition to General Session offerings for all attending doctors. Another first for the meeting included the launch of the PECAA app, which displayed event information all in one place for the ease of attendees, as well as provided networking opportunities for members within the PECAA community.
First time meeting attendee Jamar Holloway, Director of Operations at Visionary Eye Care, enjoyed his experience. “I was truly impressed at the scope of the Annual Meeting. The conference was meticulously organized, with a great attention to detail while still providing a casual, laid back atmosphere. The quality and content of the CE was just as impressive.”
General session speakers included PECAA’s Director of Education Paul Karpecki, OD, who spoke about the diagnosis and management of ocular surface diseases, PECAA’s Columbus Regional LeaderJason Miller, OD, who discussed practice management tools regarding patient flow, former PECAA Membership Director Doug Martin, who spoke about communication strategies to deliver a consistent patient experience, and Luxottica Senior Training Manager Jonathan Smith who discussed the journey from patient to consumer.
Two evening events were held this year for members, vendors and guests. The Welcome Reception took place at the Country Music Hall of Fame, and the final evenings Member Appreciation event was held at the Wildhorse Saloon. Performing for members on the final evening were students from the W.O. Smith Music School, PECAA Gives 2017 beneficiary. PECAA Gives is an initiative to give back to the local community in which the PECAA Annual Meeting takes place. This year, the PECAA community banded together to raise more than $16,000 for the local Nashville community school.
Jamie Hughes, PECAA’s General Manager, felt the meeting was a success. “PECAA’s Annual Meeting is our signature event for the entire PECAA Community. We were excited to unveil new PECAA programs, vendor partnerships and workshops at this year’s event. The reception from our Members and staff was fantastic and Nashville proved to be a terrific host city.”
Today, PECAA continues to provide business and networking opportunities to its 1,228 members, 2,414 member doctors and 1,419 member locations nationwide.
About PECAA
PECAA is one of the nation’s leading Doctor Alliance Groups serving Independent Eye Care Professionals throughout the United States. PECAA’s mission is to promote and protect independent eye care through innovative programs and marketing strategies. PECAA offers its members a competitive and comprehensive portfolio of services including exclusive profitability programs, marketing services, quarterly loyalty rebates, business education tools, billing and coding consultation and more.