Cherry Hill optometrist receives prestigious award
The New Jersey Society of Optometric Physicians presented its E.C. Nurock Award to Charles H. Fitzpatrick, of Mt. Laurel during the organization’s Oct. 10 general membership meeting and awards ceremony at Bally’s Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City.
Fitzpatrick is a graduate of Temple University and the Pennsylvania College of Optometry. Upon graduation he completed a residency in pediatrics/visual therapy and served as associate instructor of Optometry at SUNY State College of Optometry in New York City. He is a diplomate of the American Board of Optometry.
Fitzpatrick has been an NJSOP member for the past 30 years and served as its president in 2010 and 2011. He is a lifelong member of the American Optometric Association, a member of the West Jersey Optometric Society and immediate past-chairman of the board of trustees of the South Jersey Eye Center, a charitable organization based in Camden. He has served as a clinical examiner for the National Board of Examiners in Optometry and is a member of the Optometric Advisory Board for Kremer/TLC Laser Eye Centers.
Fitzpatrick is currently the AOA’s delegate to the American Medical Association Specialty Society Relative Value Scale Update Committee as well as the AOA’s Federal Relations Committee. He has served as the NJSOP’s delegate to the Carrier Advisory Committee of Novitas Solutions, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services Regional Contractor for the past decade. He is presently chairman of the Third Party Center Committee of the NJSOP.
The recipient of several prestigious professional awards, Fitzpatrick was selected by his peers as New Jersey’s Optometrist of the Year in 2007, and is a 30-year recipient of the AOA’s Optometric Recognition Award for participation in the maintenance of clinical competence through continuing education programs.
The E.C. Nurock Award is the NJSOP’s highest and most prestigious honor. To qualify for this lifetime achievement award, a candidate must exemplify those characteristics of an outstanding practitioner, and who, for a continuous period of several years, has rendered outstanding service to his or her profession and colleagues. In addition, the optometrist must have shown concern and involvement within the association and the profession and made a significant contribution to the community.
Fitzpatrick’s peers chose him for the award in grateful recognition of his invaluable contributions to the visual welfare of the community, the association and the profession of optometry.
“It is wonderful to be recognized by your peers with such an honor,” Fitzpatrick said. “I am humbled to join the ranks of the great leaders of the profession of optometry and hope that I may inspire others to serve.”
Fitzpatrick is in private practice at Eyexam Associates in Cherry Hill with his partner, Alan Siedman. He and his wife, Beverly, reside in Mt. Laurel, where they remain committed to continued excellence in the public schools.
