The Vision Council announced that its current Contact Lens Division will be merging under its Healthcare Division. It says that this merger highlights the shared interest of both industry sectors in providing quality eyecare and the power of sight to all. Healthcare Division Chair Jerry Warner with CooperVision will continue to lead this newly united group.

In addition, Jonathan Christie, OD, MBA, has been selected to serve as Healthcare Division vice chair. Dr. Christie is a senior managing optometrist at Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center. He is leading key virtual-care initiatives, including a remote renewal pathway for established contact lens wearers, integration of DMV vision reports into the EMR, adoption of AI-driven scribes, and participating in the rollout of e-visits for red-eye conditions to reduce unnecessary in-person care. His work also includes contributions to asynchronous diabetic retinal screening and participation on systemwide committees focused on spectacle lens strategy and care optimization. Dr. Christie is a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry and vice chair of the Academy’s Ocular Telehealth Special Interest Group. He is a clinical assistant professor at the Southern California College of Optometry at Marshall B. Ketchum University.