Honoring NECO’s Pivotal Role in Shaping VA Eye Care

This Veterans Day, as we honor those who served, we also celebrate the profound legacy our community has built in caring for our nation’s veterans. NECO’s connection to this mission runs deep, dating back to the 1940s, when World War II veterans returned home and entered optometry school on the GI Bill, using their military service to launch careers dedicated to vision care. Yet few realize how pivotal NECO graduates were in building the modern VA Optometry Service from the ground up.

The groundwork began in the late 1960s and ’70s when Charles Mullen, OD ’69, former Director of Clinical Development at NECO, pioneered a clinical training model that was radical for its time. By placing optometry students directly in community health centers and VA facilities, the College championed patient co-management, interprofessional communication, and direct advocacy for optometrists as essential members of the medical team.

When landmark legislation (PL 94-581) secured full recognition and equal standing for VA optometrists in 1976, a trailblazing wave of NECO alumni stepped up to build the service. Leaders including future NECO President Clifford Scott, OD ’68, Barry Fisch, OD ’71, Rodney Gutner, OD ’73, and Gerald Selvin, OD ’73, stepped into key roles to establish advanced clinical standards. Under Dr. Gutner’s leadership from 1981 to 2008, the VA’s externship and residency programs underwent unprecedented national expansion. Dr. Scott offers a firsthand account of the challenge, reward, and purpose found in caring for veterans:

Dr. Clifford Scott

As a young Air Force optometrist, I recognized the value we provided to keep the planes flying,and the ships sailing,and the soldiers aiming.  But by the time my tour of duty was finished, I was becoming bored; all these active-duty personnel had been screened at recruitment and, therefore, had very routine visual conditions.

Fast forward 10 years; I was firmly ensconced at the West Roxbury VA Medical Center, overseeing robust NECO student and residency programs. Every day, we were seeing a high volume of veteran patients who had very complex and difficult-to-manage conditions. Although it was exciting and provided great learning, it also was exhausting.  At the end of one day, trudging, as usual, to an empty employee parking lot, it hit me. These were the same people who had been vital and healthy while on active duty, but circumstances and/or bad lifestyle had severely affected their effective vision.   

That epiphany made me realize the worth that the VA brings to our country, making sure we honor every veteran’s service to the country by providing top-notch healthcare in a respectful environment. That’s why I use the VA for my own personal health care.

That spirit of innovation only accelerated in the 21st century. In 2003, alumni Drs. Anthony Cavallerano OD ’72, Barry Fisch, and Gerald Selvin launched the VA Boston Ocular Telehealth Center and Diabetic Teleretinal Imaging Program, revolutionizing remote eye care access for veterans across the region. For Dr. Selvin, the drive to advance VA optometry was rooted in a lifelong respect for veterans’ service:

Dr. Gerald Selvin

Having been born right after the end of World War II, I grew up with a strong sense of the incredible service by all the men and women who saved us from the darkness of the Nazis and others. My father was an army medic tending to those on the battlefields during the Normandy Invasion. Many of the neighborhood and school kids I grew up with were imprinted with the sacrifice of U.S. veterans during the Second World War. 

When I started working inside the VA in Los Angeles, it became clear how underserved (with respect to eye care) veterans were.  Disease prevalence and vision impairment seemed (and later proved to be) higher than in the general population.  Those of us on the front lines of eye care 50 years ago knew we had to fight many battles to keep the momentum, and remarkably, we were able to. We did this by applying the mantra, “take care of the patients, everything else will fall into place.” 

Fortunately for veterans in New England, NECO was eager and among the early affiliates working with VA facilities to train future ODs alongside residents.  I am proud of what optometry has accomplished in the VA.  As long as we keep veterans’ well-being in mind, we will continue to succeed.

Today, VA optometrists manage 3.4 million patient encounters annually across 350 locations, serving 1.8 million veterans. They deliver comprehensive care ranging from combat-injury treatment and chronic disease management to specialized traumatic brain injury (TBI) vision rehabilitation and cutting-edge telehealth.

Veteran eye care remains a cornerstone of the NECO education. Every student completes a rotation within the VA health system, prompting many to follow with VA residencies, fellowships, and dedicated careers in veteran health.

Thank you to all of our alumni, faculty, and students who continue this vital mission every day.