Let's start by saying thank-you to our many clients from Black Diamond, Turner Valley, Millarville, Longview, Okotoks, High River, Priddis, Calgary and others. Diamond Valley Vision Care is celebrating it's first year in business and we couldn't be more pleased with our choice to set up shop in the Diamond Valley.
It's funny, one nice lady of 85 years chastised me for saying 'Diamond Valley' because they were separate towns and should remain 'Black Diamond' and 'Turner Valley'. I explained that it was that I found this 'valley' was a real 'diamond' and that it had nothing to do with the town names. Perhaps she believed me.
We will be celebrating our first year in business over the June 4th parade day weekend, but the actual anniversary was April 19th. We served a nice gentleman who had lost his glasses to a fight in Mexico the day before. He lost more than that, but had good enough sense to quit while he was ahead. He was the first of several hundred patients we've served since opening our doors, including the great many children assessed for health and optimal learning readiness.
The local schools are to be commended for having us attend on site so we could check the Kindergarten classes. These were not simple 'screening' exams and we were able to do some more detailed checks into visual function and efficiency as the children were starting in the reading programs. In some cases, surprising numbers of trouble areas were found and we were able to help many children even up the playing field. Sadly, many more children go on without appropriate investigations into eye health and visual function. In the end, it was a great convenience to parents and prevented needless pain and needless costs to schools. What good is language training if vision isn't working optimally?
One of the more moving examples was 'David', four years old, and for all intents and purposes a very normal kid, though his parents noted he liked to look at things rather closely. David, as it turned out, was very highly farsighted and effectively legally blind. He navigated largely by shadows and colour differences, and was very good at it. When David got his final prescription (it was so high, we had to step him into it), he looked up, pointed to a tree and asked what the leaves were. He then studied his mom for a minute, then said very simply with a matter of fact smile of his face, 'Mommy, you're pretty!' No one had a dry eye in the clinic that day. There are many 'David's' out there.
When looking for a location to set up a new clinic, I knew this region was underserved. Still, many people advised against setting up a high-tech clinic in a small town. The fact is, in the last year, we have:
- assisted nearly a hundred people through surgical procedures including cataracts, glaucoma, macular degeneration and others.
- detected serious sight and life threatening conditions that were otherwise undetected in many dozens of cases.
- prevented blindness in many more through management of disease and amblyopia (lazy eye).
- provided hundreds with great custom glasses, contact lenses and specialty eyewear.
- served dozens of people on location when they could not attend our clinic.
- saved healthcare and patients literally tens of thousands of dollars by dealing with eye health issues locally rather than in Calgary in a specialty clinic.
- helped some quit smoking.
Accessibility has always been a priority for me and so the clinic was designed to accommodate all people, especially wheelchairs. We have also tried to extend our reach with home and site visits, but unfortunately the Province does not allow for this in any way. (Not only are site visits not covered under health care, but even if people want to pay me to see them at home, I cannot accept payment. Seems terribly odd in today's day and age given all the rhetoric around healthcare.) The longterm cost of NO care is often much greater than the service charge required to motivate more doctors to do house calls. It's complicated, I know, but the current answer of 'no care at all' is not acceptable.
Over the next year, we will be expanding our product line to include more low vision devices. We'll also be keeping our selection of fashion and safety frames current and interesting. We are always working to serve you better and are truly honoured to serve our communities.
We will be around Parade day with some fridge magnets, gift certificates and free sunglasses for the kids. Please feel free to bother us for a pair or to simply ask questions about your eyes and vision, or that of your children. Thanks again for a great year!
Dr. Boulet is a former teacher and now operates Diamond Valley Vision Care in Black Diamond where he continues to work with children with learning difficulties. Call 403-933-5552.
www.dvvc.ca and www.LearningManagement.ca.
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