One Vision, Many Paths

As Chief Medical Officer, it's my responsibility to make sure our organization delivers the highest level of clinical care in an environment that is fulfilling for the people delivering that care. We don't endeavor to merely meet patient expectations—we must exceed them.

Partnering with MyEyeDr. allowed me to continue to focus on what I love: providing personalized, quality patient care and practicing to the scope of optometry that makes the biggest impact in my community.

The optometry world is changing in warp speed. When I started looking at how Schaeffer Eye Center was evolving as a company and its future within the eye care industry, I was considering key practice management inputs like: managed care, optical lenses, frames, IT systems, training, etc. That led me to evaluating many options for the future of my business, so that I could continue to be the best in eye care. I realized that there was one company that represented everything we practice and believe in at Schaeffer Eye Center, and that was MyEyeDr. They share our philosophy, have an amazing management team, and more personally, they offer a future security for our families and provide everything we need to be a part of something bigger.

I saw that there were tremendous benefits to not being boss. I do not have to devote anywhere near the time to the practice that I used to. No longer do I take my work home with me. When I'm finished seeing patients, I am finished for the day. As an owner you are never able to fully disengage from running your practice. Now I concentrate on seeing patients, and make sure their experience in our office is the best possible.

MyEyeDr. has been, and continues to be, an industry leader in keeping our patients and team members safe and healthy. Our safety protocols go above and beyond Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations, and our patients and staff greatly appreciate those efforts. Almost every day, patients comment on how safe they feel in our practice and that our protocols go beyond what other healthcare facilities provide.

As most practice owners know, you must wear many hats in running a multi-million-dollar practice. I was happy to hand over the back-office administration for the practice, as MyEyeDr. has efficiencies and processes that are much better than an individual owner may have.

MyEyeDr. offered us a comprehensive solution for all our operational needs, including those we had been outsourcing, such as IT. As strong as we were, we were not strong enough to take care of all of our operational needs ourselves. MyEyeDr. changed that, with nearly all those operational necessities now handled by our support team at the MyEyeDr. home office.

With insurance reimbursements getting lower, cost of goods getting higher, payroll expenses increasing, and employee challenges requiring an outside human resources expert, I was getting tired of fighting for every penny to make sure that my net profits could continue to grow. With all of that pressure, and so much to be gained, selling to MyEyeDr. was an easy decision.

Before partnering with MyEyeDr., we thought we had a good handle on marketing, but what we have now is twice as powerful. We were lucky that our business manager was an excellent marketer, especially in the social media world. Most practices do not have someone on staff that could handle all of those duties.

My transition goals were to continue to practice full-scope optometry, retain my staff, but offload the day-to-day management headaches regarding payroll, inventory and vendor management. With MyEyeDr., I was easily able to attain those goals, and so much more.

MyEyeDr. provides a personalized wellness journey for each patient who walks through our doors. Each step along the patient's journey correlates to a part of the experience beyond the exam itself. For instance, it encompasses the transfer of trust between the doctor and associate when discussing eyecare solutions. Each aspect of the journey ties into what makes a great and lasting impression upon the patient.

I was impressed by what MyEyeDr. doctors were achieving in the industry, she says. They were the leaders. She found that not only did MyEyeDr. support each student's individual passions and journey, but they advocated for diversity in a way that not all practices did.