On Friday October 24th 2025 SOA-USA met in Washington DC as part of the annual Investiture of the Priory of St John in the USA
Established in 2015, the SOA is formed of 11 chapters across five international hubs, and is affiliated to iYP, the Young Professionals group.
The American chapter of the Ophthalmic Association of the St John of Jerusalem Eye Hospital Group (SOA-USA) held its tenth meeting in October 2025, at the Fairmont Hotel in Washington DC. This was the fifth such meeting at a US Priory Investiture, and the third to be open to all Investiture delegates.
The event was presided over by US Priory Hospitaller, Mr David Pyott.
Following an introduction from Prior Nigel Heath, the program speakers included Chairman of the St John Eye Hospital Group, Sir Andrew Cash, CEO of the SJEHG, Dr. Ahmad Ma’ali, and Order Hospitaller, Dr. David Verity.
Two captivating recorded video case presentations were presented by two of the Jerusalem Eye Hospital residents, Dr. Jomana Swiden and Dr. Mahmoud Qabaja, and moderated discussions ensued after each case by Dr. Suzanne Freitag and Dr. Bita Esmaeli, academic advisors for the SOA-USA.
Sir Andrew Cash and Dr. Ahmad Ma’ali engaged in a comprehensive discussion on the clinical activities of the Hospital Group.
Dedicated to promoting the profile and reputation of the St John Eye Hospital Group, the SOA has now run over 40 events across the world. This meeting in Washington DC attracted over 75 Investiture attendees, and brought experts together from a range of specialties to discuss both the service work of the Hospital Group, our clinical and research projects, and two case reports from Jerusalem.
SOA-Global is grateful to our USA Chapter, and to our Eye Hospital staff for staging yet another a high-quality meeting, bringing these objectives one step closer.
Thank you.
Excerpt from ‘Eyes on the Future’, a publication of the Priory of the USA
