Caitlin Morrison, OD, FAAO, FSLS, opened In Focus: Specialty Contact Lens & Vision Solutions in Scottsdale, Arizona, five years ago as a specialty lens-only practice. She found a 900-square-foot space in a medical plaza, and it was a great spot to start the practice and build her reputation.
But as is true of many growing practices in small spaces, it soon got cramped. “I hired an associate for one day a week, and another comes in on evenings and weekends to do intense pulsed laser procedures and orthokeratology, but I didn’t have room to hire more staff or expand their hours,” she says.
Looking at available spaces online one day, she saw a posting that a space in her building on the floor above her was opening up. The plastic surgeons who had been there were expanding to a larger space within the building. She contacted the building manager, who allowed her to break the lease and gave her a tenant improvement budget for this 2,200-square-foot office.
DOUBLE THE SPACE
“I didn’t have to do much to the space,” she says, noting it already had two rooms she could convert to exam lanes and one where she could put her diagnostic technology, such as her optical coherence tomography unit and Oculus Pentacam. The office had a modern farmhouse feel to it, which wasn’t really her style. But the changes she made were mostly cosmetic, keeping the whites and adding black, gold and green accents.
Dr. Morrison says she knew more this time around than when she went through the process last time around. “Maybe it’s just being five years older and more experienced, but I had more input. I used the same general contractor but a different architecture firm,” one that solicited her input more.
“When you’re just starting out, you think that an expert knows better than you. I said I wanted a certain color or kind of floor, and they said: here. This time, I got to advocate for more of what I want. There are multiple options for quartz counters or flooring, so this is the first space that I think reflects my style in the finishing touches.”
She counsels optometrists who are remodeling or building to speak out. “I am the expert in what I want, so I’ve learned to say, ‘No, I’m not interested in that.’ You can always ask what other options are available,” she says.
NEXT PHASE OF GROWTH
In late August, she closed her office for just one day as a crew rolled her equipment to the elevator and into the new space. If patients unintentionally show up at the wrong door, it’s a simple redirect to welcome them to the new space.
Now that there’s room to move around, she and her associates can take care of some of the backlog or get patients in more quickly. “Now we have the ability for multiple doctors to be there at the same time. In the old space, we couldn’t do more because we were at capacity,” she says.
Patients and staff all appreciate the roomier space. “It’s definitely a better experience for the patient to be able to get in more quickly and to enjoy the visit without feeling as cramped,” she says.
Despite the larger space, Dr. Morrison is not expanding her focus. “I knew that specialty lenses was what I wanted to do since before my residency. And I wanted to excel in one area, and I’ll refer my patients to those providers who excel in their areas. I don’t want to fraction my brain to try to be too much.”
And her approach to growth remains “slow and methodical. Eventually, I’ll add staff, but I’m happy where I am. My staff is great and takes wonderful care of the patients,” she says. The team of doctors and staff have the capacity to see more patients – and thanks to a move upstairs, they have the space for it, too.
Find Dr. Morrison and In Focus: Specialty Contact Lens & Vision Solutions online:
Instagram @eyesplain
Facebook facebook.com/infocusvisionsolutions
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