A Newsletter For Friends
and Patients of the Eye Care Center 1-800-870-5473
Tullahoma:
931-393-2020Shelbyville:
931-684-0191Winchester:
931-967-7939Fayetteville:
931-438-1100McMinnville:
931-123-4567
| EXCIMER LASER CORRECTS ERRORS | SPOTLIGHT EEC EMPLOYEES | SPORTS EYE SAFETY |
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Excimer Laser Corrects Refractive Errors
Hunter Norris, M.D., performed the first Lasik procedure in the Tullahoma area in March 1998. Lasik, short for Laser in-situ keratomileusis, is a procedure to correct nearsightedness, farsightedness and/or astigmatism using an excimer laser underneath a flap of tissue. The procedure was performed at the Eye Care Center Laser Surgery Center in Tullahoma.
The excimer laser was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in October, 1995. With a cost of $500,000, the laser has not been available in most markets until recently. The availability of the excimer laser in southern, middle Tennessee is being made possible by an alliance between the Eye Care Center and Laser Vision Centers of St. Louis, Missouri.
Laser Vision Centers offers a mobile laser access program. This mobile access program allows the laser to be shared with multiple sites throughout the United States.
"We are pleased to be able to offer this service to the people of southern, middle Tennessee," said Dr. Norris. "Our patients no longer have to drive to Nashville, Chattanooga, or Huntsville for surgery to decrease their dependency on glasses or contact lenses. We can treat them with the latest technology right here at home."
The excimer laser is at the Tullahoma Eye Care Center office at least one day a month.
The excimer laser is computer controlled by Dr. Norris and uses a gentle beam of laser light to precisely reshape thin layers of the cornea. There are no deep cuts or burns. After the surgery, images entering the eye are focused more sharply on the retina, restoring cleaner more natural vision.
If you would like more information on the Lasik procedure, please contact any office at the Eye Care Center or attend a Refractive Seminar the third Thursday of each month at The Eye Care Center.
SPOTLIGHT: Marilyn Burns and Mary Helen Brittain
The Eye Care Center is pleased to recognize our new administrative staff, Marilyn Burns and Mary Helen Brittain.
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Marilyn Burns, RN, CNOR, most recently a registered operating room nurse at Harton Regional Medical Center in Tullahoma, TN has taken the position of Practice Administrator at the Eye Care Center. Prior to joining Harton Regional Medical Center, she was a Mortgage Loan Manager with First Federal Savings Bank in Tullahoma. As Practice Administrator, she is responsible for the daily operations of the Eye Care Center. She recently completed the Ophthalmic Practice Management course at the Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania and the Practice Management Intensive Training Course in Atlanta. Marilyn has a Bachelor of Science degree with High Honors in Business Administration from University of Tennessee in Knoxville. She earned her degree in nursing Magna Cum Laude from Motlow State Community College. Marilyn looks forward to her association with the Eye Care Center as it allows her to combine her previous experience in both the business world and in healthcare. She appreciates the opportunity and the challenge of providing comprehensive eye care to the many thousands of Eye Care Center patients in southern, middle Tennessee. |
Mary Helen Brittain, a co-owner of ImageWorks Design Concepts, Inc. of Tullahoma, has recently joined the Eye Care Center as practice administrative assistant. In addition to ImageWorks, Brittain was employed with UTSI for several years, most recently as Public Relations Coordinator. She has also been active with Mary Kay Cosmetics for seven years and has spent several years volunteering her time to the local Cub Scouts. She and her husband, Harry, have lived in Tullahoma for 16 years. They have two, children, John, a freshman at the University of Memphis, and Michael, a THS sophomore. They are members of Grace Baptist Church. Brittain earned a B.S. Degree in Home Economics at the Univesity of Tennessee - Knoxville and taught Vocational Clothing Management in the Shelbyville school system before moving to Tullahoma. "I am excited to be a part of the Eye Care Center staff. It is very rewarding to see the doctors and their staff working together to provide quality eye care to their patients," said Brittain. |
| "We look forward to Marilyn and Mary Helen's many contributions
to the Eye Care Center. They will provide a very dynamic and professional
approach as they are both very patient-oriented," said Hunter Norris,
M.D. | |
Sports Eye Safety Often at the Bottom of Teams' Priority List
While nearly 90 percent of all sports eye injuries are preventable, eye safety is often at the bottom of a team's priority list - if at all.
According to Prevent Blindness America, more than 40,000 eye injuries occur annually in sports and recreational activities. More than half of these injuries are to children. Yet only a handful of sports organizations mandate the use of eye and face protection to young athletes. In baseball, only one national league - Dixie Baseball, Inc. - is requiring such protection for its little leaguers.
"Children are often injured in sports because they are not as fast, as accurate or as experienced as their adult counterparts," says James Blanks, O.D. "When youngsters are under pressure to react quickly, they may throw wild pitches, dodge the wrong way or kick in the wrong direction." Sports eye injuries may include bruises around the eyes, shattered facial bones, retinal detachment and even permanent vision loss.
Not surprisingly, basketball is now the leading cause of sports eye injuries for both children and adults. Baseball follows at a close second. Swimming and pool sports are ranked third. "Within the next decade, the number of sports eye injuries could increase because more Americans are moving toward a more active lifestyle," notes Dr. Blanks. "And as Americans become more active, sports eye injuries will continue to climb if people do not take the necessary steps to protect themselves."
The Eye Care Center advises parents to encourage their children's coaches
to require eye and face protection for the team. To help parents provide
information to coaches, the Eye Care Center is offering free information
about sports eye safety and how to choose proper eye protection for specific
sports. You can obtain the information by calling the Eye Care Center at
393-2020.
PH: (931) 393-2020;
PH: (931) 393-2255
(800) 870-5473
1100 North Jackson St. - Tullahoma,
TN 37388
Designed
by Imageworks Design Concepts, Inc.
Copyright
1999