Monthly Archives: February 2016

Mary Anne Murphy, OD, of Front Range Eye Associates, in Broomfield, Colorado, has made some of the expected changes in her office over the past two years: equipment enhancements and scheduling process changes to improve the overall efficiency of this four-OD location. “But the biggest impact on the practice has been to encourage everyone to be involved in professional, corporate and community organizations,”she says.

The threat of two feet of snow is a pretty good reason for closing an office—which is what Tina Vu Kelly, OD, of Alexandria, Virginia, did as a late January snowstorm hit the mid-Atlantic region. Amid predictions about exactly when the storm would hit, she canceled patients starting at noon on a Friday, which left time for staff and patients to get home or just stay home.

It’s been 16 years since Avani Patel, OD, FAAO, completed a successful buyout. She moved the business across town in 2008 to its current location, which she recently renovated.

This story was originally published in our March 2011 issue. "I remember one day, we had one person come in all day,” says Kristen Runke, OD, recalling the practice she and her husband, Daraius Unwalla, OD, opened together in 1991. There were no employees, just the two recent graduates who were each working in other places as well to keep up with their loan payments. But the practice picked up quickly, in part because the community of Great Falls, Va., just 12 miles from Washington, D.C., supported the high-end optical and wanted the kind of personal attention Dr. Runke provided.

This story was originally published in our March 2011 issue.—Alissa Nagel, OD, FAAO, of Las Vegas, is intrigued by the kinds of cases that puzzle others.

This story was originally published in our March 2011 issue. Lisa Thomas, OD, of Pearland, Texas, still recalls the intimidating health care system and doctors who treated her as she battled ovarian cancer when she was a college student. That experience may have contributed to her soft spot for kids.

When Nytarsha Thomas, OD, couldn’t find the right practice to purchase, she decided to move forward and open her practice from scratch.

Before Amy Tran, OD, graduated from Southern California College of Optometry in 2004, she answered a professor's "$1 million question: what is the most expensive part of running an independent practice?"

By Laura Chonko, OD, HHC, FONS—If you're thinking about the next step you should take, here are some ideas that I have found to be helpful for your consideration.

This story originally appeared in our September 2011 issue. U.S. Army Lt. Col. Debra McNamara, OD, who is the 124th Medical Detachment optometry team leader, 18th MEDCOM from Fort Shafter, Hawaii, shares a common goal with many optometrists: to provide eye care that enhances the patient’s career and lifestyle needs.