Our patient, Barry, gives a video testimonial about his eye exam experience at Visionary Eyecare (Independent Doctors of Optometry Next to LensCrafters) INSIDE the Sawgrass Mills Mall.

Barry has had eye exams ALL OVER THE WORLD - England, Australia, Asia etc.  He came to LensCrafters inside the Sawgrass Mills Mall looking to get a quick eye test done.  LensCrafters referred him next door to the Visionary Eye Care office.  Barry was used to paying a very minimal fee for a 10-15 minute eye test.  He had no idea that an eye exam could be so thorough and comprehensive.  When we started doing his eye exam – he was immediately “blown away” by the high-tech equipment, the thorough exam, all of the attention that was given to him and also the caring Optometrist who took A LOT of time to meet his exact needs to ensure that he was completely satisfied.

Barry decided to go ahead and get fit with bifocal contact lenses with Dr Dawn Bearden.  An accurate bifocal contact lens examination, done correctly, usually requires several follow up visits.  Barry lives in the Bahamas but, he was so impressed with the care at Visionary Eyecare – he decided TO CONTINUE TO FLY BACK AND FORTH to continue his eye care with the Eye Doctor here at Visionary Eyecare!!

Today he was so happy as he left our office – he now could see distance and read up close without wearing his glasses all of the time!  He could also now wear those cool non-prescription sunglasses over his bifocal contacts when he is out on his boat or driving in a car during his worldly travels.

Barry says that he will definitely always come back here for his eye care and recommend Visionary Eye Care to all of his friends.

Now THAT is a happy patient!
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Join Us THIS WEEKEND – Fri, Sat and Sun – Nov 13th, 14th and 15th for our Patient Appreication Event and the Lenscrafters Customer Appreciation Event.

We will be giving raffle tickets to EVERYONE who comes in for an eye examination during the event.  One lucky person who gets an eye exam with the lucky raffle ticket  will win a FREE IPod!!!

If it has been more than 12 months since you have seen an Eye Doctor….then NOW is the time to get your eyes examined!!  Many eye diseases – like glaucoma, retinal detachments, retinal tears, eye tumors etc -  do not cause symptoms so, it is very important to get your eyes examined yearly.  Come in to see an Optometrist  here at Visionary Eyecare this weekend – and you may win a FREE IPod! To schedule an eye exam online  – CLICK HERE !!  Or call us at 954-851-9949 to schedule your eye exam at our Sunrise / Sawgrass Mills Mall location for this special event.

LensCrafters will be giving away FREE Designer Eyeglasses and FREE Designer Sunglasses all weekend.  They will also be offering 60% OFF of their lenses with the purchase of a frame.   And right now – they are also running a GREAT clearance event – with 50% OFF select complete pairs of frames and lenses – see store for details.

EVERYONE who comes into the Sawgrass Mills  LensCrafters during the event will also be given a FREE GIFT – just for stopping by!  There will also be FREE food, FREE refreshments and also FREE vision screenings during the Patient and Customer Appreication event – THIS WEEKEND – Nov 13, 14, 15  2009.

We are located INSIDE the Sawgrass Mills Mall – in between JCPenny and BrandSmart.

Allen Picture Eye Chart

Allen Picture Cards

Lea Flip Chart

Allen and Lea charts have pictures or shapes on them that youngsters can identify.   The Broken wheel chart allows the child to tell the examiner which wheel on the car is “broken” .  The Tumbling E chart (also known as the illiterate chart) allows a child to just POINT in the direction that the “legs of the E” are pointing in.

Allen Picture Eye Chart

Often our children can not express to us when they are having problems with their vision.  They may not even realize that they are experiencing vision problems.   Sometimes children will try to compensate for vision issues by closing one eye, rubbing their eyes excessively, squinting, skipping over words or loose their place  when they are reading.

Kids may start having difficulty in school due to an “unknown” reason.  A recent study indicated that up to 60 percent of youngsters that have been identified as “problem learners” or “learning disorder” actually suffer from an undetected visual condition.

Tumbling E Eye Chart

A vision problem is not suspected in many children because they were able to pass the school vision screening or the pediatrician vision screening.  These children may still have visual issues but, they were not detected on the screening.  Only a comprehensive eye exam, done by an Eye Doctor (Optometrist or Ophthalmologist) will be able to detect subtle vision problems.

Broken Wheel Eye Test

Vision issues need to be detected and corrected before age 7 to prevent lifelong problems such as lazy eye (amblyopia), eye turn (strabismus), learning disabilities and behavior problems.

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Bionic Contact Lens - University of Washington

Time.com (in partnership with CNN) recently reported that a prototype of a “bionic” contact lens has been created and Time has listed this as one of the Best Inventions of 2008.

Here is an excerpt from the article:

The University of Washington’s Babak Parviz has created a prototype “bionic” contact lens that creates a display over the wearer’s visual field, so images, maps, data, etc., appear to float in midair. The lens works using tiny LEDs, which are powered by solar cells, and a radio-frequency receiver.

We think this is really “kewl”.

Maybe one day during your eye exam you can ask one of the Visionary Eyecare Doctors to be fitted for a contact lens that would allow you to see a map while you are driving or see an excel data sheet floating in mid air (that only you can see) during a really important presentation.  Wow!  Now that is definitely a huge step up from just plain old colored contact lenses or bifocal contact lenses….this is the next evolution BEYOND just seeing 20/20.

Check out the video below to see more of  TIME’s Best Inventions of 2008 – including futuristic swimwear worn by Michael Phelps, DNA test kits,  a very sporty and fast electric car and lots of different kinds of robots….

more about “TIME’s Best Inventions of 2008″, posted with vodpod

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Children Wearing Protective Sport Eyewear

As reported on Twitter by Prevent Blindness America and Prevent Blindness Florida (@PBFlorida), the Florida House of Representatives adopted HR 9095, a resolution recognizing the seriousness of sports-related eye injuries in children and the importance of sports eye safety to protect the children of Florida.

Here is an excerpt from their website:

Eye injuries are the leading cause of blindness in children in the United States, and 90% of these injuries can be avoided with the use of protective eyewear. Prevent Blindness America applauds the Florida House of Representatives for their commitment to children’s eye health.  For more information about sports eye injuries and how you can protect your child’s sight, visit the children’s sports eye safety section of the Vision Learning Center.

For a copy of the adopted resolution, click here.

Dr Dawn Bearden, Dr Anna Kay Tenn, Dr Emily McCulloh and Dr Alyx Lin at Visionary Eyecare in Pembroke Pines and Sunrise routinely ask about children’s sports and hobbies during the medical and social history portion of the eye exam.  Children under the age of 12 are routinely given a prescription for polycarbonate lenses for their eyeglasses.  This polycarbonate material is more impact resistant – which is important for children due to their active lifestyle.  If a child participates in any impact or ball sport – then the eye doctors at Visionary Eyecare will also recommend sports goggles for eye safety.

Sports goggles are excellent for protecting your eyes (in BOTH adults and children) while playing any type of impact or ball sport such as basketball, racquetball, soccer, baseball, softball, tennis, rugby etc.  Many eye injuries can occur from a ball or racket hitting you in the face near the eye – or an impact with another player’s elbow, knee, head etc.  while playing the sport.

Some serious eye health issues that can occur from these impacts include retinal detachment,  subconjunctival hemorrhage (bright red blood spot on the white of the eye), ocular inflammation (iritis/uveitis)  and even cataracts or glaucoma that can occur YEARS after the injury to the eye.

In persons under 25 years of age, ocular trauma is the number one cause of visual loss.

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Dr Florian Safner, Dr Dawn Bearden, Dr Ross Goukler and Rhonda Kratz - RVP of Lenscrafters

In March, Lenscrafters held its annual “Summit” in Nashville, Tennessee for the company’s top executives and leaders.   Dr Dawn Bearden not only manages 2 Independent Doctor of Optometry Offices Next to Lenscrafters (In Pembroke Pines and Sunrise) but, she also serves on the Lenscrafters Optometric Advisory Council.  Dr Bearden was invited to the Summit along with other leading Eye Doctors affilitated with Lenscrafters.

Lenscrafters, who’s new brand story is “Lenscrafters Loves Your Eyes“, recognized several leaders of the company. Those who received awards had delivered above and beyond exceptional service and had a positive impact on the company, their peers, customers, patients and the public.   Dr Bearden was honored with one of these few distinctive awards.

Dave Reaves, VP of Lenscrafters and Dr Dawn Bearden

Here are some excerpts from the award:

What does someone who creates a Mind Blowing Patient Experience look like to me?

For those of you who don’t know her, she is an amazing clinician, entrepreneur and a Guru when it comes to using the internet for promoting eye care.

Spend two minutes on her website and you’ll be emotionally connected to her, her practice, her patients and her cause: educating the public on the importance of preserving sight.

This individual provides a consistent and a thorough eye exam experience that keeps her patients coming back year after year.  Which is great news, especially in those cases when her drive to deliver a consistent and thorough eye exam turns out to be life saving too.

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  Lenscrafters Summit Recognition Award

This is a story that is connected to this Doctor’s strong leadership.  Not only did she provide life-saving care to her patient, she then used her website and her blog to educate her peers and the public about the importance of annual eye exams with her story about her patient, Judy.

Judy is now this doctor’s patient for life and an advocate for the importance of annual eye exams.

We encourage you to go to the Visionary Eye Care blog and see Judy tell her own story…in her own words…its a beautiful thing.

This is a fantastic example of a Doctor who loves annual eye exams, loves eyes and most importantly loves life!!

That is what delivering a Mind Blowing Patient Experience means.

Dr Dawn Bearden and Executive VP of Lenscrafters, Frank Baynham

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Brian Regan shares his hilarious interpretation of his experience during his eye exam with his eye doctor…

Funny stuff like…

• How can instantly improved vision NOT be at the top of your To-DoList?!?!?
• How to end up with big thick “Coke Bottle” glasses…
• Do You Like Number One or Number Two…..???
• Eye Exam Anxiety
• In the Eye Exam Room….Dark and Alone With the Eye Dr
• Trifocals…

From Dr Dawn Bearden and the entire Visionary Eyecare team (in Pembroke Pines and Sunrise) to you…….ENJOY!!

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Judy McNab shares her full story

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Judy McNab never really felt the need for yearly eye examinations until she started to need glasses in her 40’s and 50’s.  Like most people, she thought she did not need to see an eye doctor if she did not need to wear eyeglasses or contact lenses.

One day she came into Visionary Eyecare in Pembroke Pines for an eye exam because she lost her glasses.  She was not having any problems with her eyes, no eye pain or pressure, no headaches, no vision problems….nothing.  She just wanted to quickly get an eye examination so she could get a new prescription to buy a new pair of glasses at Lenscrafters.

During the eye exam at Visionary Eyecare  (the Independent Doctors of Optometry next to Lenscrafters in Pembroke Pines),  Judy was able to see 20/20 in the examination room, her eyes looked perfectly healthy during the dilated retinal examination and also on the digital photographs taken of the inside of Judy’s eyes.   During the examination, Eye Doctor -  Dr Dawn Bearden recommended that Judy get a visual field (peripheral vision) test as a baseline – because Judy was over the age of 40 (much like a baseline mammogram is done at age 40) .  This test is an advanced test that is not part of the routine eye examination and would take extra time and cost Judy extra money (unfortunately – unlike a baseline mammogram-  most medical insurances and vision plans and will NOT pay for this preventative testing as a baseline).  At first, Judy did not want to take the time to do the additional test but Dr Bearden explained that visual field testing could uncover early and subtle eye health issues that sometimes a routine eye exam could not.  Judy was convinced and did the additional visual field test… and the results came back positive – TWICE.

Dr Bearden immediately referred Judy to an ophthalmologist for a secondary evaluation. At first,  Judy did not really want to see the ophthalmologist…..she kept telling Doctor Bearden that her vision was fine and she was not having any problems or symptoms….but, Dr Bearden INSISTED that she go for the secondary evaluation.   Judy did see the ophthalmologist, who then referred her to Bascom Palmer in Miami to see an eye doctor that specializes in eye tumors and eye cancer.

Judy was diagnosed with a tumor in her left eye and had laser treatment to help destroy the tumor in her left eye.  This was in 2005.  Now in 2009 Judy still has good vision in her left eye (she is able to see 20/25 in that eye).  Luckily, the tumor did not spread to anywhere else in her body and the surgeon was able to treat the tumor without having to remove Judy’s eye.

Judy shares her experience in the above and below videos.  She reminds us all that YEARLY eye exams are very important to help detect eye health issues that you may be unaware of… since many eye health issues DO NOT CAUSE SYMPTOMS and can only be detected by a COMPREHENSIVE eye exam.

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Judy McNab – short video testimonial

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These videos and many more educational videos and testimonials can be found on the Visionary Eyecare YouTube Channel…..CLICK HERE to check it out!

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Erik Nunez is a South Florida resident and was a patient of Dr Dawn Bearden a few years ago in the Pembroke Pines office. When he was due for his last eye exam he just happened to be out of the country and visiting his family in Argentina. Erik had his eye examination from an eye doctor in Argentina and was never able to see out of his glasses very well.

He returned to Dr Bearden to “get fixed” and here is his video testimonial (also available on our Visionary Eyecare YouTube Channel).

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