ST. LOUIS—The American Optometric Association (AOA) has opened registration for Optometry’s Meeting, which is returning to Denver this year. The meeting is scheduled for June 24-26 at the Colorado Convention Center, and it will include “a reimagined experience that keeps attendees’ health and safety paramount,” according to AOA. Optometry’s Meeting convenes the profession’s frontline eye health care experts, advocates and industry leaders, with its goal to keep optometry moving forward. While 2021’s meeting returns with a different look, “nothing changes the AOA’s laser-like focus on progress,” the association noted.

“Now’s the time for us to reconnect as a profession, convening our optometry community and leaders for Optometry’s Meeting 2021 to celebrate the incredible resilience and compassion demonstrated by our members, as well as look forward and plan for an even brighter future,” William T. Reynolds, OD, AOA’s president said. “Let me be the first to assure you that the AOA is taking the appropriate steps to ensure we can do this with the utmost health and safety in mind.”

This year, Optometry’s Meeting will employ added health and safety precautions that build upon all public health requirements mandated by local and state authorities, as well as those of the host facility, to ensure friends’ and colleagues’ well-being.

In relocating Optometry’s Meeting to Denver (it had been scheduled for Anaheim, Calif.), AOA said it chose the Colorado Convention Center because of the exceptional cleanliness and safety measures that are in place, including its Denver 5 Star certification denoting that the facility has implemented safety measures that go beyond what is already required by current public health orders.

In keeping with capacity restrictions set forth by state and local health departments, Optometry’s Meeting will require attendees to enroll for specific learning courses upon meeting registration to ensure these requirements are maintained. This means some continuing education (CE) and professional development courses may fill up sooner than others, and seats will be offered on a first-come-first-served basis. Additionally, each classroom will be cleaned and sanitized at the conclusion of each course.