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ABOUT THE
FLORIDA OPTOMETRIC PHYSICIANS NETWORK
Sidney J. Stern, O.D., F.A.A.O.
A pioneer in dedicated Provider Networks in
Florida, the FOPN has been providing Vision-Care
and/or Eye-Care Services to Managed-Care plans & programs;
Professional & Trade Associations; other Not-for-Profit
Organizations; Companies & Corporations; and
Local & State government departments
for more than 10 years.
A Man of Vision
In the late 1980s, Sidney J. Stern, O.D., F.A.A.O., recognized the need for dedicated Provider Networks to support the emerging trend in Managed-Care and the explosive growth of Health Maintenance Organizations offering Medicare, Medicaid and Commercial benefits programs. At that time Doctor Stern was operating a single office in southwest Miami-Dade County with a partner.
Many patients were leaving private care and signing on with health plans. Rather than watch the transition in medical-care from the outside, Dr. Stern decided to be a part of the cultural change.
Very active in ‘organized optometry’, Dr. Stern was and still is a member of the Dade County Optometric Association (DCOA), the Florida Optometric Association (FOA), the Southern Council of Optometry (SoCO) and the American Optometric Association (AOA). He personally knew optometrists from one end of the state to the other, and began forming an Optometry-based Network to bid on providing vision-care services to the HMOs and other Managed-Care health plans. Several years before, he and his partner ended their association and Dr. Stern had opened additional offices in Miami-Dade and Broward Counties, all under the banner of
Dr. Stern’s Visual Health Centers.
The original Network incorporated eight wholly owned Dr. Stern’s Visual Health Centers in South Florida and approximately 22 independent Doctors of Optometry, each with their own offices. HUMANA, the first HMO to contract with Dr. Stern’s network, and referring members in Miami-Dade and Broward Counties.
Armed with an even broader vision, Dr. Stern established the
Florida Optometric Physicians Network as a corporate umbrella, sought additional Managed Care clients and secured a contract to provide vision-care services in Collier, Charlotte and Lee Counties, in Southwest Florida. He secured additional contracts in Miami-Dade and Broward Counties, and also added Providers and coverage for other contracts in Palm Beach, Martin, St. Lucie and Okeechobee. Today, the Florida Optometric Physicians Network (FOPN) is a statewide Network, operating with local, regional and statewide networks, depending on the needs of the contracting Health Plan.
“Quality Care & Service First”
After graduating from Miami Beach High School, Dr. Stern attended the University of Miami and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in 1967. He then attended the Southern College of Optometry in Memphis, TN, and, in 1971, returned to Miami with his Doctor of Optometry (O.D.) degree and began practicing.
Dr. Stern also formed what would be a long association with Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami. He was soon named the Chief Optometric Consultant for Jackson’s satellite medical clinics in North Dade, South Dade and Miami Beach.
His commitment to organized optometry also began as soon as he returned to South Florida. Now, some years later, Dr. Stern has served as President of the Dade County Optometric Association and the Florida Optometric Association after serving as a Trustee of each organization and holding all elected offices on the ladder to the top slot. He has also chaired the Eye Care Benefits Committee of the American Optometric Association, and currently serves as Vice President of the Southern Council of Optometry, based in Atlanta.
Above & Beyond the Call of Duty
Dr. Stern was named FOA’s “Legislative Man of the
Year" in 1994, “Optometrist of the Year" in 1997 and
“Optometrist of the Decade” in 2000.
Additional professional and personal highlights include: Being named a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry (F.A.A.O.), in 1976; serving as an Assistant Clinical Professor in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Miami School of Medicine, from 1979 to 1994; serving as a founding member of Florida Optometric Association's Emergency Response Preparedness Committee (formed after Hurricane Andrew hit South Florida in 1992), playing an instrumental role in creating and implementing FOA’s
Emergency Response Plan and helping draft FOA’s “Emergency Preparedness
Manual”; and establishing the Dade Optometric Vision Enhancement (DOVE) Fund — later renamed the
Dr. Bruce Heiken Memorial Fund — when he was President of DCOA, to provide vision-care services for children of indigent and
‘working poor’ families. Dr. Stern was president of the Heiken Fund in 1992 and vice president from 1993 to the present.
He served as the President of the Community Health Foundation in south Miami-Dade County for two years in a row; participated in LEADERSHIP 2000, a statewide leadership initiative implemented by Florida Governor Lawton Chiles; and has served on the Fisher Island Community Council, from 1999 to the present, which operates under the auspices of the Miami-Dade County Building & Zoning Department.
Married with four children, Dr. Stern has one daughter who is also a Doctor of Optometry and another daughter who is a Doctor of Internal Medicine.
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