‘Twas the night before Halloween and Envision was stirring
With plenty of glasses that had a strong yearning
To get out on the town, to go strut their stuff.
But Envision was closed; to get out would be tough.
The frames began talking, conspiring with each other
The OGIs tried opening one window, the Silhouettes, another.
But the windows were locked with not even a crack.
To escape, the glasses would have to plan an attack.
“The windows are locked, and the doors are all closed,
But there must be another way!” the sunglasses proposed.
“We’ve got to get out! It’s Halloween!
We can’t wait twenty minutes, or even fifteen!”
They planned and they talked and they talked and they planned,
It was finally decided the Maui Jims would command.
The escape was constructed, they deemed it foolproof!
They would shimmy up the walls and through the vents in the roof!
All at once, every light in the office shone bright.
A looming shadow stood at the door, what a fright!
Dr. Golson had come back, the doctor had returned!
The frames all stayed silent, afraid their plan would be learned.
But the doctor was quick in the office then out,
He had forgotten his costume and couldn’t party without!
The lights turned back off, but as the door was closing,
One brave OGA frame caught it without the doctor supposing!
As the doctor drove away, everything seemed alright.
The frames all lined up and ran out in the night!
They were finally out, they were finally free!
All were in costume and on a trick-or-treating spree!
As they knocked on the doors and gathered their sweets,
They didn’t do much tricking, but got lots of treats!
Then one frame cried out, as they faded out of sight,
“Happy Halloween to all! And to all a good night!”
Since the mid 90s, over 28.3 million people have had LASIK surgery for vision correction and that number is growing by 700,000 every year. Patients often jump for the possibility of “waking up with perfect vision” ;and in the last few years, flashy advertising, celebrity endorsements and lower prices have made this procedure even more popular. We hear success story after success story about LASIK, but what about the patients we don’t hear from that have post-op problems like blurriness, night blindness, or even permanent vision loss? Is 20/20 vision all that really matters?
As your trusted eye care provider, it is our responsibility to keep our patients aware of the latest in developing stories regarding eye care. A compelling story aired on ABC news on September 22, 2010 from Morris Waxler, PhD (former FDA chief in charge of the group that pushed for approval of LASIK), who has reversed his position on the procedure’s safety. He is now telling the public that 50%+ of LASIK corrected eyes are having major permanent long-term damage, and he is urging the FDA to issue an immediate Public Health Advisory to help prevent further injuries to Americans thinking that this elective surgery carries no risk. This comes after Waxler has reviewed peer clinical studies over the past three years which give him reason for concern.[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvnJ76F78o4]
To dovetail on my last blog post, "Envision Eyecare's Approach to Customer Service," this entry will describe how our philosophy on customer service extends into the realm of patient care.
Working in several practices before starting my own, I came to recognize consistencies in patient complaints about their past care. They centered on not understanding their particular diagnosis, feeling rushed through the exam or feeling like they received inadequate care. Several comments kept surfacing: "My last eye doctor told me I have cataracts. Well, Doctor, what are cataracts?" "I felt like the last place I went tried to do my exam as fast as possible so they could move onto the next patient." "The last eye doctor never did this test on me."
If Envision Eyecare truly cares about serving its patients at an elemental level of its organizational philosophy, how can care be delivered so patients don't walk out after the exam confused or feeling unimportant and underappreciated? What does that look like to you? What do you need in your own care so you not only feel satisfied; but so you feel gratified to a level that leads to loyalty?
“Happiness in the work place.” Does that concept sound more like an oxymoron than a real possibility? Integritive owner John Miles doesn’t think so.
John Miles of Integritive
Started by Miles over 8 years ago, Integritive is a rapidly growing E-Marketing firm in Asheville that places the priority of employee happiness on a level playing field with the economic vitality of the firm. In fact, when hiring a new team member, Miles acknowledges that he first considers the candidate’s personality in context to overall cultural fit before even reading the candidate’s resume. “Does this person play well with others,” he (seriously) jokes. He knows if he can get the right people on the bus to start, the potential for happiness broadens.
At the recent TEDx Asheville event held Sunday, August 29, 2010, Miles described an idea termed ‘Innerpreneurship’. In contrast to Entreprenuers, which start a business to fill a need and turn a profit, Innerprenuers start a business to learn about themselves, make a difference in the world and reach their full potential. Each interaction throughout the typical work week is an opportunity for personal growth of the individual, which is then shared with the team in the name of collaborative evolution. How to define success under this model? Miles uses Earl Nightingale’s definition: “A progressive realization of a worthy ideal.”
Interesting article in the Mountain Xpress about what direction Asheville should move to become a sustainable city. What are your thoughts? Do you think affordable housing is the best path towards sustainability? Other ideas?
A friend recently asked me what the most common question that I get from patients is. The first query that popped into my mind is “If I start wearing glasses, will they make my eyes worse (or will they make my eyes better?)” I felt like this was a helpful topic for Envision’s new blog as it comes up so often.
This is an important question. I, for one, wouldn’t want to do anything that made my vision worse, and yet would use glasses if it could improve my vision.
Countless studies using years of research have been performed to answer this question. The short answer is “No.”
As a dynamic member of the eye care community, Envision Eyecare understands the necessity of quality vision care services. This is why we are taking part in Optometry Giving Sight's World Sight Day Challenge.
The World Sight Day Challenge is a major fundraising campaign coordinated by Optometry Giving Sight to raise funds for projects that provide vision care, local training and infrastructure support for people who are blind or vision impaired due to uncorrected refractive error – simply the need for an eye exam and a pair of glasses.
Ok. So here it goes. I step into the world of blogging and my life along with those reading this will forever be changed! Well, maybe that's a bit dramatic, but I have to admit, this is exciting!
‘Twas the night before Halloween and Envision was stirring
With plenty of glasses that had a strong yearning
To get out on the town, to go strut their stuff.
But Envision was closed; to get out would be tough.
The frames began talking, conspiring with each other
The OGIs tried opening one window, the Silhouettes, another.
But the windows were locked with not even a crack.
To escape, the glasses would have to plan an attack.
“The windows are locked, and the doors are all closed,
But there must be another way!” the sunglasses proposed.
“We’ve got to get out! It’s Halloween!
We can’t wait twenty minutes, or even fifteen!”
They planned and they talked and they talked and they planned,
It was finally decided the Maui Jims would command.
The escape was constructed, they deemed it foolproof!
They would shimmy up the walls and through the vents in the roof!
All at once, every light in the office shone bright.
A looming shadow stood at the door, what a fright!
Dr. Golson had come back, the doctor had returned!
The frames all stayed silent, afraid their plan would be learned.
But the doctor was quick in the office then out,
He had forgotten his costume and couldn’t party without!
The lights turned back off, but as the door was closing,
One brave OGA frame caught it without the doctor supposing!
As the doctor drove away, everything seemed alright.
The frames all lined up and ran out in the night!
They were finally out, they were finally free!
All were in costume and on a trick-or-treating spree!
As they knocked on the doors and gathered their sweets,
They didn’t do much tricking, but got lots of treats!
Then one frame cried out, as they faded out of sight,
“Happy Halloween to all! And to all a good night!”
A friend recently asked me what the most common question that I get from patients is. The first query that popped into my mind is “If I start wearing glasses, will they make my eyes worse (or will they make my eyes better?)” I felt like this was a helpful topic for Envision’s new blog as it comes up so often.
