Vision care industry and corporate impact
It's your eye health experts, Prevent Blindness Texas, and welcome to Eyespiring, a conversation about all things vision and life.
Heather Patrick:Welcome to Eyespiring podcast with Prevent Blindness Texas. I'm your host, Heather Patrick, the CEO of Prevent Blindness Texas. Prevent Blindness Texas is focused on advocating for improved health equity, empowering children, adults, and seniors to experience life at the highest level, and improving overall health, including physical and mental health.
Heather Patrick:By preventing vision loss and addressing eye health issues across the entire health spectrum, our work improves the health and quality of life for thousands of individuals across the great state of Texas.
Heather Patrick:I have been doing this work for a long time and love the work we do. I believe in advocating for improved access, improved health education, and just connecting people to the care and information they need. It's a great space to be in, lots of exciting things happening. And today, we're going to talk to Jill Ames and just get a little different perspective about the space, and so with that, I'm gonna introduce Jill.
Heather Patrick:Jill is the manager for the Alcon Foundation. She's a seasoned social impact professional with over a decade of experience in strategic charitable giving and partnership development.
Heather Patrick:As manager of the Alcon Foundation, she leads development and implementation of Alcon's charitable giving strategies, contributing to Alcon's reputation as a global leader in eye care. She is passionate about building and supporting collaborative programs that improve lives by ensuring individuals in need receive the eye care they deserve, fostering healthier, more empowered communities. And I will say, I have worked with Jill since I have been here. It's an amazing partnership.
Heather Patrick:She's an incredible individual, and it's really been fun to go on this journey together and watch things happen and change and evolve. But I will say you are one of the most collaborative partners I have worked with, and it is a lot of fun to do this with you and take this journey, and Alcon's been an incredible partner, and I'm a big believer people make the difference, and you definitely have for us. So tell us a little bit about yourself, and then we're going to dive in.
Jill Ames:Absolutely. Thank you, Heather, for that introduction. I agree. I love collaborating with you all. It has been a really great journey over the years to just get to know Prevent Blindness Texas better, to see how we can collaborate to continue to make an impact on the patients here in Texas.
Jill Ames:And I think one of the coolest things that I've seen just over the time of our partnership is just how things, I think, from our perspective, watching Prevent Blindness Texas grow and really get it kind of sink your teeth into, you know, the the data and analytics and and you know, positioning ourselves in a place where we can really know what's happening so that we can then, you know, really help address what the gaps are.
Jill Ames:So it's been really cool, you know, kind of watching that progression over the years, but yeah, I'll share a little bit about myself, just an introduction. I've been with Alcon for close to fifteen years now. I started in September of twenty ten, and I actually started in our customer service department. Prior to that, I was in banking, which
Heather Patrick:Really?
Jill Ames:Yes, I was. I went out of college. I have a degree in communications, and after college, I was like, Okay, I just need a job anywhere at this point. You know, we'll be fine, and I ended up going into banking. I was a teller and then a teller manager for a while, and really enjoyed working with employees and kind of getting to know what makes them tick and what they care about, and of course, both from a personal and a professional development perspective.
Jill Ames:It was very much a customer service oriented role. That's what I've done since I was 16, and so I've always just really loved helping people, And, you know, working at the bank, was able to interact with people every day, but frankly, I got burned out. You know, I was really looking for something that I felt had more more of an impact, you know, had more of a purpose to it.
Jill Ames:And I will share, my mom actually worked at Alcon for thirty plus years, and so when I started feeling like my time at the bank was coming to an end, I was talking with my mom almost daily of, How can I get in at Alcon? Are there any openings? Do you know anybody? Can you put in a good word for me? I ended up getting over at Alcon in the customer service group, and I did that for about a year.
Jill Ames:When I first started at Alcon, I came to learn about Alcon's charitable giving, and I truly I had no idea that corporations even gave charitably, you know, when I first joined, so it was new, you know, new information for me to learn about, you know, how companies are giving back, and so I remember learning that in my orientation and then was doing my customer service thing for a while.
Jill Ames:But then a role came open in our corporate giving group, specifically supporting our patient assistance program, and I thought, What a cool opportunity to take my skills in customer service, my passion and desire to help people, and really get to talk with patients that are in need. This program, to be specific, it's for patients who cannot afford their medications that have been prescribed, their Alcon medications that have been prescribed, so being able to get those patients the medications that they need at no cost, I was like, Okay, I'm sold.
Jill Ames:This is exactly what I want to do, and fortunately, I was able to get the role. It's a very popular role at Alcon, I'm sure at other companies as well, to be able to work and do the work that we get to do, but I'm very blessed to have been able to get into the group, and so I did the patient assistance role for about six months, and then I was asked to move over to support the foundation, which frankly terrified me because I knew nothing about charitable grant making.
Jill Ames:I frankly didn't really quite understand what the foundation did exactly, except I knew they did really cool things to support nonprofits, and so I moved over to support the foundation, and that's when I started working with Rhonda Bryant, who has taught me pretty much everything I know as far as charitable giving goes and really learning about my kind of my my elevator pitch is always like, get to give the company's money away. And people are like
Heather Patrick:You invest the company's money.
Jill Ames:Exactly. Yes. And I'm like, there's way more to it. There it's a very it has to be very strategic. We have to make sure that we're being good stewards of the resources that we have that Alcon gives us, and so it's really amazing work that we get to do, and really, it's all about the partners for me, and it's about the patients that we help to support.
Heather Patrick:Very cool. So tell us a little bit about Alcon. So for anybody that's listening that may not know, tell us a little bit about Sure. Who Alcon is and what they do
Jill Ames:Alcon is an eye care company, medical device, and moving back into pharmaceutical space. We have been around for roughly eighty years. First started here in Fort Worth, Texas, where I'm based. It was actually two pharmacists, Alexander and Conner, so that's where you get the al and the con from, and we are now grown into a global company. I think we have probably roughly forty, forty five thousand associates across the globe, and so, yeah, it's really great working for a company that I think really does have a noble purpose, It's you know?
Jill Ames:And and I think that is something that I have seen many companies doing, you know, over the last several years is kind of tying what they do back to a a broader, bigger purpose, right? And come work for us because, you know, you get to to help in this way, and to me, eye care has always just naturally been that.
Jill Ames:You know, that you don't have to really push hard or try to sell, you know, the the fact that what we do as a company is, you know, helping people either returning their site, restoring their site, enhancing it, which is great just at face value, of course, when you talk about, yes, people need to be able to see, but when we really get down into the impact that that makes, and I'm sure we can talk more about it, but it just goes so much farther beyond, Oh, this patient now can see their grandchild for the first time, which is amazing, right?
Jill Ames:But it's also this patient can now return to work and make a living and support their family, or this child is now seeing in the classroom better and doing better in the classroom. It really is like pulling that thread through to show that what we do as a company is very important, but also it lends itself really naturally, I think, to the charitable space that we work in.
Heather Patrick:Absolutely. To me, vision is kind of the fabric, right? It is the fabric of our lives. And probably because I'm in this space, so I might just be biased, but I really do think, and we talk about this often, just how deep it is truly into our families, our communities. And I think because a lot of people just take it for granted that they don't really take a step back to see how important vision is.
Heather Patrick:We were talking to one of our partners last week. She is with one of the school districts we support, and she actually shared with us that she had not gone to get an eye exam until she started to work with us. And I was like, oh, Sabrina, we got to tell that story. And she's like, now I really understand why it's so important and beyond just, you know, being able to see about all the health components. And I was like, that's that's why we do this work. That's how we do it. So it was really a cool experience.
Jill Ames:Mhmm.
Heather Patrick:Alcon, in terms of kind of culture, really kind of walks the walk. Right? So they don't just talk it. They don't just invest. Their employees get really involved too. So talk to us a little bit about that.
Jill Ames:Sure. Absolutely. And honestly, that is one of the things that, you know, as I shared, my mom worked at Alcon for thirty years.
Heather Patrick:I didn't know that.
Jill Ames:That's so cool. And well, I have some cooler stories that I think you'll you'll get jazzed about. So I remember as a kid, you know, this and I think this really blends nicely to the question you asked. As a kid, I recall going to different volunteer events that my mom was doing with Alcon to help. Junior achievement, I recall.
Jill Ames:I know that they used to do different things with United Way, and, you know, my mom was a single mom, so she you know, if my if my sister and I happened to not be in school that day, we would get to go and volunteer, which happened a few times. I also remember as a kid participating in, like, the night for sight that PB Texas used to do on Alcon's campus.
Heather Patrick:Yeah.
Jill Ames:Years and years ago, so that was really my first, you know, exposure, obviously, to Alcon and Prevent Blindness Texas, but that, I think, right there goes to show it is very much in our DNA as a company to want to support the communities that we operate in. We have thousands of associates who are so passionate about many different things.
Jill Ames:Eye care, obviously, is one of those, and I would say over the years, probably I think the coolest thing I've seen, and it has morphed and evolved over the last decade or so, is the fact that in the state of Texas especially, the fact that associates can be trained to be certified vision screeners and then partner, and we love the fact that you guys help with that and help us get our associates trained up so that they can do those screenings and do them well and make sure they're not missing anything.
Jill Ames:But the fact that we've had these associates that can get trained, be certified, and then go help the school nurses with screenings or even volunteer on their own time in the community or at their kid's school or whatever they may choose to do, it is such an awesome tieback to what we do as a company, and then as the years have progressed, we've grown and morphed that program because we know how important it is, as you all do. You don't stop at the screening. You are then walking that patient through the system and helping them get plugged into whatever resources are available to them.
Jill Ames:You know, whether they have insurance and can go, you know, see an eye care professional or they don't, and we can help them, you know, get them connected to community resources. So that I think is another evolution that I've seen with Prevent Blindness Texas over the years is, you know, in a lot of organizations, really trying to go beyond, you know,
Jill Ames:Here's your voucher for a pair of glasses. You've gotten your screening, and now you can go, you know, hopefully find some care, but really staying with that patient and that case management and really almost individualizing and customizing that care for that family, for that child. To me, that is where the impact is, is making sure that they get into that care and receive all of the care that they need to have that bigger impact.
Heather Patrick:Yeah, right. It's creating that pathway and walking alongside them. Because for me, and we've talked about this too, right, we can screen all day long and we should. But if we don't have a place for them, if we can't help them go where they need to go, if they need treatment, we put them in a really hard place. And so I think it's our obligation to do what we can do to help them as much as possible walk that path together.
Heather Patrick:I mean, it's not possible for every client, but certainly a majority of them. That's what the team does, really that care coordination of working with parents and teachers and schools and nurses and really helping them close the gap and understand how important is that that pair of glasses can change everything for that child. And I really think the comprehensive approach. And I think that definitely, over the last eight years, that approach for PBT has really changed. And so I'm proud of that.
Heather Patrick:But we couldn't do it without partners like you. And not just the funding rate. I really appreciate it is the partnership. It is the ability to come to the table, bounce ideas off of each other. Not everybody has a funder like that. Not everybody has partners like that. But I really You set the mold in that sense of you're just great partners to sit down and brainstorm with.
Heather Patrick:And some things come to fruition, some things don't. But it's just such an honor and privilege really to be able to have that kind of relationship. So I value it so much because it has been so helpful over the years to really help push us think about different ways to do the work, different partners that we hadn't thought of, so it's really it's a great relationship.
Jill Ames:Thank you. We feel the exact same way, and that is part of what makes, I think, this role so unique is oftentimes I think people it's mischaracterized a little bit as, Oh, it must be such a fun role. Yes, it's fun, but it's also very hard and takes a lot of work, and then I think, you know, other times, some thoughts are, Oh, well, you're just cutting a check, and, you know, that's it, but that really is what you talked about, that partnership, that collaboration.
Jill Ames:Even if it's something just as simple as we have a partner here that's working somewhere and a partner that's working maybe somewhere similar, hey, have you guys met? Facilitating those connections and having those, just brainstorming conversations and getting jazzed and creative and excited, that's what makes this work so much fun, really.
Jill Ames:And that's where all of the ideas were born, and like you said, even if it's not something that comes to fruition today, there have been conversations we've had where years later, things are kind of starting to you know, it's planting that seed, and so it's really cool to watch those kind of things unfold, you know, years later sometimes.
Heather Patrick:Yeah. Okay. So we talked a little I didn't I thought your first connection with PBG was me, so I love the fact that you did it as a kid and that your mom was there, and I'm so full circle. That's really cool. Why so important to you besides the fact that you work in it?
Heather Patrick:Right? But I still think we're drawn to these places that we have these connections to. So why is iHealth important to you?
Jill Ames:Really good question. And to be very honest, you know, when I was, looking to escape the banking industry
Heather Patrick:Which I still can't believe you were in. I can totally see you doing customer service. That totally aligns, but the bank now knowing you, I can't see you in the baking industry.
Jill Ames:It wasn't you know, it was it was a I'm getting out of college and just trying to get a job. I mean,
Heather Patrick:it's a great industry. It's a fantastic industry.
Jill Ames:Yeah. But it just was not for me. And so, yeah, I honestly didn't I myself didn't realize the importance and impact of eyecare, even when I started at Alcon. It was, this is a great employer in my community. My mom's worked here, you know, and I think it's a great place to work.
Jill Ames:But I mean, as soon as you get onboarded, you kind of become a champion for eye care, and I feel you know, really, really lucky and fortunate to be in the role I'm in because I get to see, obviously, you know, the commercial and business aspects of it, you know, working at a large company, but seeing the more humanitarian side of it, and, we make fantastic products, fantastic pieces of equipment, and that's great, but the human side, right, the people that it's helping, getting to have the connections and really seeing the impact that it can make.
Jill Ames:Again, whether it's partners sharing pictures and videos with us or visiting a partner site and seeing programs that they're running and seeing people with a cataract surgery, for example, and having that bandage come off and be in tears and just be unbelievably grateful. And I mean, that is that right there is bigger than me. That's bigger than us.
Jill Ames:You know, that there's something bigger to that. And for me, I need something like that. In my personal life, in my professional life, it's just part of who I am, and so having the ability to see what access to eye care does, a pair of glasses, a 10 minute surgery, that absolutely changes people's lives. I mean, all the way from being safer on the roads to be able to drive to, you know, again, returning to work to learning to, you know, just all of the things.
Jill Ames:And then I think about. If that one person now can see and the impact that they have on other people's lives and that ripple effect.
Heather Patrick:Yeah.
Jill Ames:That, to me, is what makes eye care It's like that's bigger than just that one patient getting services, and so that's kind of what gets me really excited and jazzed, is the ripple effects of it.
Heather Patrick:Me too. Me too. Okay. So you're clearly passionate about the people, collaboration, inspiring work. Who inspires you? What inspires you? Because this work is hard.
Heather Patrick:You know, I I think to your point, a lot of people think, oh, you're a funder. It's easy. But I've been on that side, and it's not easy. And so tell me, what what makes the hard days what keeps you going?
Jill Ames:People like you, honestly. It is it's our partners. I am constantly just in awe of our nonprofit partners' abilities to, like, respond quickly, pivot quickly, make changes. And I mean, during COVID especially, I it just has and and even now, with all of the uncertainty, watching our partners, even with all of the difficulty and all of the challenges, just keep pushing. Just keep, you know, because it's like this.
Jill Ames:I don't know what it is. It's like this innate thing. I feel like in a lot of our partners that are in this space, you know, just have this passion that this fire that won't die and it's all to help other people. And so talking with our partners and getting to hear stories about different patients that have been helped, or even eye care professionals and their experiences in under resourced areas and hearing how it changed their lives of being able to train other eye care professionals and help patients, you know,
Jill Ames:that maybe travel for days to get to the site that they're, you know, doing the work, so it really is being connected to our partners. When we're having a rough day at work and we're having to deal with all the corporate stuff that happens at corporate places, when we have a partner call, that is absolutely when it's like, Okay, this is the reminder of the why.
Jill Ames:This is why we do what we do. We are helping these patients return to their lives and improve even more so than where they were before.
Heather Patrick:That's awesome. My leadership team met this morning and what I think is so incredible, and I think my team has done it so well over the years as, okay, we're just going to problem solve. We're just going to figure it out. You throw this barrier up. Okay, we'll figure it out.
Heather Patrick:And so and I think is I think it's a testament to the nonprofit space, but I really do there is something about the vision space and the organizations in the vision space in particular. Okay. We'll figure it out. We're just like, we are committed to solving the problems. I think there's this hope, right, least in there.
Heather Patrick:And I think that for me is kind of the pushing factor too, because it can be solved. Right? I mean, that's why I get so excited about this work and the things we talk about because it can be solved. It's still solvable. Now, ten years from now, if we don't do anything different, that may be a different story.
Heather Patrick:But right now, with just doing a couple of things differently on a large scale, it is solvable. And I think that is what keeps us coming back to the table two ways. Right? We can do this. We we can still make a big difference.
Heather Patrick:Absolutely. So you answered this a little bit, but I wanna talk more about it. So one of the questions is, were you always interested in in the philanthropic field? So I I sort of. Right?
Heather Patrick:You didn't necessarily know you were. Right? But you got in. Okay, so now you're at the foundation. So what was kind of the most surprising when you came into the foundation and had to learn that part of the business? What kind of stood out to you?
Jill Ames:Absolutely. I would say it's the depth with which we get to know our partners, and I had no idea about, you know, essentially that partnership management, relationship management. I mean, I guess I knew a little bit about it from my customer service days, but yeah, just the time that it takes and the commitment that it takes to really get to know our partners, because you can't You know, I have found that if I am not really plugged in and having conversations, frequent touch points, you know,
Jill Ames:really staying plugged into how our partners are doing, what they're doing, you know, gaps that there may be, how we can help continue to support, broaden our support, You know, it isn't a like a one and done. You know, as you know, it's it is ongoing and things change and evolve, and so we're constantly having to stay in touch and really just keep those relationships deep. And there's a lot of reasons for that.
Jill Ames:You know, it helps me do my job better. I can't figure out how we can help you all if I don't know exactly what you're doing, you know, how you do it, and so that honestly has fulfilled kind of this nerdiness in me because I love learning.
Jill Ames:I love just getting to know the nonprofits and how they do what they do and, you know, all that it takes, all the technical stuff and, you know, and and the impact that you all are making, and once I know and understand that I can then take that information and you know, kind of evangelize it right to our leaders and our board.
Jill Ames:It's, you know, that's how I see my role is, you know, I'm there to speak on your behalf and advocate for you, you know, and say, is why we need to support this work. But I can't do that unless I'm really in it, which, again, I love.
Jill Ames:It takes a lot of time, and I think that there's a lot of I think it could maybe be, you know, that something maybe people don't know about, you know, kind of like grants managers or, you know, this type of work is you really do have to there's a lot of analysis.
Jill Ames:I do a lot of reading. I do a lot of research because I can't you know, one of the things that I have to do to make sure that I am working with integrity is I can speak to what this organization is doing. I feel proud and good to represent them to our board and leaders, and, you know, so that takes a lot of time and effort to do that, but I absolutely love it.
Heather Patrick:Yeah, because basically, you're going to advocate on to what to invest in, right? And so really, in order to be effective, right, from a funder perspective, it really is looking at risk. And in order to really assess risk, you really have to know an organization. And if you're going to advocate for investing in them, you have to know why. Right? Why?
Jill Ames:Absolutely.
Heather Patrick:If you were going to tell so for those that are listening, if you were going to give them like two pieces of advice because they want to get into working for a foundation, any corporate foundation, larger foundation, what would you tell them? Them? What would be the two things you would tell them?
Jill Ames:I would say be ready for change because it's constant, and I would say, especially if you're getting into the corporate social impact space, be ready to to face challenges, be ready to argue the importance of the work that you do, and be ready to tie it back to what the company does as a business, which, again, for us, comes so naturally when we are shaping our strategy, which has remained largely fairly the same over the last several years, primarily focused on eye care.
Jill Ames:That's what we do as a company, and it's an interesting balance because being a charitable foundation ourselves, we do, and working within a pharmaceutical med device company, there are many regulations and rules and things that we have to be mindful of, and the work that we do is the decision making process that we have is separate and apart from our business structure, but we do have to make sure that what we are doing runs parallel with who we are as a business and what we do as a company, and that right there strengthens when we're going to our board and saying, Hey, let's invest in these programs, and they say, Well, why?
Jill Ames:We can then tie it back and say, Because this is aligned with what we do as a company. That's not why we give. We give because it's just in our DNA. It's what we've always done. It's the right thing to do.
Jill Ames:We know that it elevates everyone. But, you know, we also know that it in order for us to be able to continue to do the work that we do and grow, we do have to tie it back and help our leaders understand the importance of it, right, and and essentially how it's helping us as a business, you know, reputationally or whatever.
Jill Ames:So those are the pieces of advice is, you know, really, you do even though for us it is a bit separate, we do have to be very much aware of how, you know, how the business is doing, what the priorities are, to make sure that we are still kind of in lockstep, you know, with who we are as a company.
Heather Patrick:Yep. Strategic alignment. How to advocate for strategic alignment. Yeah. So let's switch a little bit.
Heather Patrick:So still in the same realm, but what challenges do you face as a foundation and kind of in the space, but then just as a larger investor into the community, what do you see, especially over the last, fifteen, eighteen months, and certainly even moving forward? What are some of those challenges? What do they look like for you?
Jill Ames:Absolutely. Gosh, challenges. I don't want to harp on challenges. I'm like, Oh, how do I pick one? Which sounds terrible.
Jill Ames:I would say, obviously, the environment that we're in right now, potential changing policies, rules, regulations, things like that, a lot of our nonprofit partners are in a position where it's like, Oh, what's going to happen? We're, you know, a scared, which is completely understandable, and so, you know, what we're really doing is just kind of we're keeping we're really trying to be more intentional about staying in touch with our partners and just having conversations.
Jill Ames:How are you doing? How are things going? You know, what is it looking like for you if we do support, you know, say, example, if we have made a recent donation, you know, do we need to look at reallocating perhaps because funds have been taken away elsewhere and whatnot?
Jill Ames:So you know, we are just kind of keeping an eye on things, you know, and and really just keeping in touch with our partners to see how can we, you know, help, if there's certain programmatic areas that maybe have been affected, how can we help redirect and support. But really, overall, for us, I would say, it is oftentimes we're having to make the case for why we do what we do and continue to get support internally from the business.
Jill Ames:We have seen tremendous growth as we as a company spun off in 2019 as an independent publicly traded company. We really have really magnified how we talk about ourselves externally. You know, there's a lot more stories out there about Alcon, and so with that kind of increased visibility comes increased requests, increased asks to us to support amazing, you know, partners and programs, and so it's a challenge trying to kind of deal with the headwinds and acknowledge those, but also try to make the case to our board of, hey.
Jill Ames:Here's why we have an opportunity here to maybe get some more resources to grow our support of some of these partners because we know that there's these challenges that are coming up. And so that is kind of a constant gentle push of, you know, how can we do more? And, you know, so that's always a conversation that we have.
Jill Ames:And again, it's finding that balance too of talking about what we do, but in making sure that it's done with integrity, making sure that it's, you know, done tastefully, that we are, you know, highlighting our partners and the patients that are served. And you know, but doing it in a way that's balanced so that we aren't getting more requests than we can actually support, right?
Jill Ames:We want to talk about the partners that we support and the patients that you all serve and share that story because it's important to share, it raises awareness, and it oftentimes helps our partners get more support and recognition, but finding the balance there so that we're not screaming from the rooftops about everything that we do but then having to turn around and say no to additional requests that we get, that can actually that probably is the biggest, I would say, challenge that we continue to face.
Heather Patrick:Yeah. And that's the hard part of the job too. Right? There are amazing, amazing organizations to invest in. Likely, you probably always have more requests than what you're able to invest in.
Heather Patrick:And it's hard because sometimes you want to do them all. And so that way, stress behind when I was in a funding role, being able to really invest strategically, make those decisions, build those partnerships. But it is hard when there's just not enough money to fund all the different pieces because there just are some really great organizations out there.
Jill Ames:Yep. Absolutely. And and also making sure that, you know, we're being consistent in in what we're doing and and how we support. And that's always been a big a big piece. And now, you know, I will say too, one of the biggest things that I'm seeing on the horizon, well, it's actually here, is a push with large companies to obviously engage associates, but beyond volunteerism.
Jill Ames:I'm seeing a lot in the social impact space about more kind of democratized grant making, right, so involving associates in in grant making decisions in some way, you know? So that is something that I'm seeing kind of come up to, I think, the forefront is as companies really wanna leverage their employee, you know, work, work base and and, you know, get them involved in in, causes that matter to them, volunteer wise, financially, whatever that means,
Jill Ames:we're seeing an increase in associates saying, well, we wanna be able to stay where the dollars go, you know? So that's another thing I've been thinking a lot about is how do we how do we do that, but also make sure that we are being consistent and that we're staying in our guidelines and we're measuring the risk and we're doing all the things that we need to do, but also having our associates be involved in it in some way.
Heather Patrick:Yeah, having those external invoices that are investing in it, right?
Jill Ames:Yes.
Heather Patrick:It's balance. Yep. The answer to everything, Jill.
Jill Ames:Balance. Right? Yes.
Heather Patrick:Alright. So outside the foundation role, what does the landscape look like for eye health? What do you think has changed over the last couple of years and what do you think is going to change over the next five years?
Jill Ames:Yeah, You know, it's really interesting to see the AI coming into play. Several, several years ago, you know, when we would hear organizations that were talking about telehealth and telemedicine and things like that, and before COVID, it was like, Oh, lots of concern and caution around, Is that effective? Is that the best way to go? And then, of course, since COVID, that has really, you know, taken center stage, I think. You know, it's so many more things are becoming, you know, digital and virtual and all of that.
Jill Ames:So It's really interesting to watch the evolution of that because I think I'm not a health care professional, but I can certainly understand the position that health care professionals might be in of, Yes, we want to adopt these systems, but we want to make sure that we also have a job, right?
Jill Ames:I think everybody feels that way about AI in a way, but I think there's opportunity for us. I've learned more about it just through the grant making lens and social impact lens of it's an opportunity for us to decide how we want to use these tools and how we want to make them work for us. We are in the position where we can determine, AI going to take over our lives, or is it not? We're just going to harness it and leverage it as a tool.
Jill Ames:I think that that is the case across the board, but especially in healthcare and in eye care as well. I'm really interested to see where it goes. Of course, I think the rise of myopia and screen time, we know that's already having a huge impact, so that I think is going to change things or continue to change things drastically. As far as you know, I guess maybe almost like a sense of urgency behind, you know, this is why this is important. We have all these kids that are, now presenting with this, and we think we know what it is, so we need to get ahead of it.
Jill Ames:It will be an epidemic if it isn't already. So those are really, I think, the two things that interest me most are the use of the digital you know, virtual platforms and ways of getting screenings and even care in some cases. And how is that? You know, how will that evolve in the future? What is that going to look like?
Jill Ames:And my hope is, you know, that we're able to create it and craft it in a way that is that helps people get more and better care, right? And wherever that might be, whatever that might look like, let's ensure the quality is still there. Let's ensure these patients are still getting, you know, the care that they need when they need it. And yeah, whatever tools we have that are being developed that where we can leverage that and do that, I think that's an awesome opportunity.
Heather Patrick:Me too. That is my hope is that together we are able to harness it so that we can start to maybe predict a little bit better in certain parts of the state where we know we could really zero in on interventions and specific interventions and really change those outcomes and have immediate impact. I am excited to see how it plays out a little bit anxious because I do think if it's not done with a lot of thought and a lot of intention, I think it could be it could go the other direction.
Heather Patrick:but my hope is I mean, it certainly could be an incredible tool, I think, the prevention side, especially. We haven't really had something like that before, and so that's my hope.
Jill Ames:Agreed. Yeah. And I totally agree on that. The prevention, the awareness, there's so much there. And I think you're absolutely right.
Jill Ames:You know, thinking through methodically about what aspects of these tools can we use in in in in what way you know? Can can there be a place for this and also the things that we have in place and how can we improve it? But yeah, I think that there's a lot of opportunity there. Maybe it's pre actual visit to an eye care professional or post or what have you, but definitely opportunity to leverage those tools.
Heather Patrick:Yeah, I agree. Okay. So we've talked through the foundation side, the health side. What would you again, what's your advice to people that are listening to learn more about eye health? What would you give them? Two pieces of advice to learn more about eye health.
Jill Ames:Well, I have to say, visit Probip Blindness Texas website, of course. Both Prevent Blindness Texas and the National Prevent Blindness, you guys have amazing information on your site. There's also different associations. I know the American Academy of Ophthalmology and of Optometry, Those are great places to get resources and see if you're a patient and you're seeking care that's close to you, you can find information there, and a lot of those organizations have really good programs as well for patients that maybe can't afford it or if there's not an eye care professional near you, so those are some really good examples,
Jill Ames:I think, and then here locally in Fort Worth, I would love to mention Community Eye Clinic. It's one of the great partners that we support, as well as Northside Eye Clinic, so there's lots of great clinics here at Fort Worth as well that do amazing work, they provide services for anyone.
Jill Ames:They do not turn anybody away that comes in, so yeah, that would be I guess those would be my recommendations, and I mean, it's I think also it's important to, anywhere that you're getting information, make sure that it is reputable, you know, and I you know, there's so much stuff out there that you can Google and ask chat GPT about and everything, so that always is my caveat, is make sure they're reliable sources, which you guys absolutely are. We know this.
Heather Patrick:Yeah, we're all right. Alright. Well, it has been awesome to talk to you. Close out for us, like, with one story. One more story about Alcon and your connection or, you know, something that stands out for you just in the work over the last decade that you've been able to do with Alcon?
Jill Ames:Absolutely. Wow. Okay. Well, I have a few stories I could share here, but one of the things that stands out to me the most is in 2022, the Outcome Foundation was recognized as Outstanding Charitable Entity, and that was by the Association of Fundraising Professionals in Fort Worth, and so we were able to go and have a nice meal and get an award, but the coolest thing for me was being in a room full of folks that I work with a lot.
Jill Ames:If you want to think about funding and fundraising as a coin, you know, the fundraisers are on one side of the coin and the funders are on the other side. And so we partner together all the time and and and talk and and, you know, I get my information from, you know, the development people, right?
Jill Ames:They're the ones that are telling me everything about the organization and sometimes getting me, you know, connected to the program people to learn more. But being able to be in that room and and say thank you to the for them to the work that they do, because I cannot imagine how difficult it must be to hit the pavement hit the pavement every day, go try to raise funds.
Jill Ames:You know, I I'm not sure I could do that. I I feel like that must be a very challenging role, and so being able to get up and and thank them for the work that they do, I mean, yes, it was great for the foundation to be recognized, but I, you know, I told Rhonda, I said, I owe this to you.
Jill Ames:The foundation owes this to you. You have, you know, established so much with what we do through our work, and so she was like a proud mama, I think, getting us get that award, but it really was an honor just to be able to recognize the work of the folks with the nonprofits and, you know, and how they just keep pushing every single day, and I I will always admire that,
Jill Ames:I think, and and I really do love that I'm in a position to to try to be able to support those efforts and be kind of that supporter and that encourager along the way. That was probably one of the proudest moments I think I've had.
Heather Patrick:That's awesome. That's a great example. That's a great example. Well, thank you so much for being part of our I Spiring podcast today and for sharing your stories and your insight and your expertise and for just being a great partner.
Jill Ames:Thank you.
Heather Patrick:Really, again, it's amazing to be in this space and do the work we do. But I will always say it is people. It is the people that make the difference across the board. And shout out to Rhonda. Rhonda's awesome too.
Jill Ames:I feel like I should have had a picture of a lot of our show.
Heather Patrick:We have. We should have had a little Rhonda picture.
Jill Ames:I know. Yeah, I totally agree. It is. It's the people. I mean, that's why we're in this work, right?
Jill Ames:We are here to, in this case, help people get their sight back or make it better and impact their lives. So yeah, it really is all about the people. Agreed.
Heather Patrick:Thank you. And thank you for being a part of PBT and pushing us to do better. So it's been awesome. All right. So in case you're wondering how you can get involved with PBT, we are always looking for volunteers.
Heather Patrick:We do all different things. You can become a vision screener, so we do that training and certification. We are always looking for ambassadors to speak on our behalf and do education. Of course, you can always be a donor. But all different ways to engage and be part of the organization.
Heather Patrick:So you can always go to our website and get more information about being a part of PBT. And for that, we are so glad you are here and listening to us. If you haven't subscribed, please don't forget to. And we'll end with always thinking about what's your vision? Thanks.
Heather Patrick:Have a great day.
