Premier Eye Care promotes four associates to Director roles as the company continues to grow

TAMPA, Fla. (January6,2016) –Premier Eye Care is pleased to announce four new Director positions to be filled by internal talent.Newly appointed into these roles are Chris Watkinson, Lee Thomas, Liz Jackson and Michelle Curtis, who each have provided strong leadership as Team Leads and have built a record of success within their teams.

• Chris Watkinson, who began his career with Premier in 2009, will assume the role of Director of Member & Provider Services. The Member & Provider services team handles incoming member and provider calls regarding eligibility, benefits, authorization and service-related issues.Watkinson holds a bachelor’s degree in Classics from the University of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England.
• Lee Thomas will serve as the Director of Medical Administrative Services. Since joining Premier in 2009, Thomas has served as Team Lead for the past two years. The Medical Administrative Services team manages provider requests for medical services, surgeries, laser procedures and authorizations. Thomas has a bachelor’s degree in history from Dominica State College, and a master’s degree in Business Management and Health Care Management from University of Phoenix.
• Liz Jackson, who joined Premier in 2011,will move into the role of Director of Network Management.The Network Management team works with health plans and provides contracting and market-related functions for provider and member needs.Jackson earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Health Administration from Florida Atlantic University.
• Michelle Curtis, who joined Premier’s HEDIS^® team in 2013, moves to the role of Director of HEDIS & Special Projects. The HEDIS team works directly with providers, members and health plans to oversee the HEDIS program, coordinate scheduling and mobile screenings. Curtis graduated from Plymouth State University with a bachelor’s degree in Business Management and a minor in Economics.

“Premier is committed to providing an environment for our associates to develop ongoing expertise and develop professionally,” said Lorna Taylor, President and CEO of Premier Eye Care. “We are excited about our continued growth and the opportunity to promote tremendous talent from within.”

Premier was ranked No. 70 on the American City Business Journals’ 2015 “Florida Fast 100” list, a ranking of the fastest-growing privately held companies in Florida. The list was compiled using the “Fast 50” lists from American City Business Journals’ Florida publications: Tampa Bay Business Journal, South Florida Business Journal, Orlando Business Journal and Jacksonville Business Journal. Also, Premier was named in May as one of the 75 “Best Places to Work for Millennials” in the nation, determined by the Center for Generational Kinetics based on an analysis of over 4,000 U.S. companies.