American Association of Eye and Ear Centers of Excellence

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The American Association of Eye and Ear Centers of Excellence Presents 25^th Anniversary Plaque

New York, NY (April 15, 2009) - The American Association of Eye and Ear Centers of Excellence (AAEECE) today presented a bronze plaque to commemorate the 25^th year of the founding of the Association at the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary in 1983. The plaque and presentation to the Infirmary was the result of a unanimous vote of the memberships held the during the 2008 AAEECE Annual Meeting in Atlanta Georgia. The language of the plaque is:

"In recognition of the 25^th anniversary of the founding of the American Association of Eye and Ear Centers of Excellence (AAEECE) at the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary in 1983.

The Centers of Excellence that compose the AAEECE have a unique mission. Because of them, a blind person talks about seeing again. Because of them, sounds are for the first time heard.

It must never be forgotten that what these institutions do for the patients they serve, is because of the miracle of medical progress - yielded in the hands of dedicated men and women."

As witnesses, the names of the President of the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary, D. McWilliams Kessler, the 2007-08 AAEECE Chairman, Richard Thomas, along with the AAEECE President were included on the plaque. Attending the presentation was J. Robert Rosenthal MD, FACS Senior Vice-President for Medical Affairs, Chief Medical Officer, Medical Director of the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary, and an AAEECE Board Member.

Robert Betz, PhD, the AAEECE President said "The wording of the 25^th Anniversary plaque, that now prominently hangs at the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary, honors all the AAEECE member facilities. It is a testament to the impact these institutions continue to have on the patients they serve."

The American Association of Eye and Ear Centers of Excellence is comprised of the premier centers for specialized eye and ear procedures in the world. Association members are major referral centers, offer some of the most innovative teaching programs in the world, and routinely treat the most severely ill eye and ear patients. The mission of these specialty institutions requires them to maintain leading edge technologies, enabling them to provide highly specialized services not available in general acute care hospitals.