This month’s service spotlight shines upon Carolynn Haas. The nomination from her supervisor reads as follows. “I am so proud and thankful for the role Carolynn has played in not only supporting her new team in the Contact Lens Department by seamlessly stepping into her new role and eagerly attacking her new responsibilities, but also in graciously providing coverage for the Pickerington office when they unexpectedly lost their Patient Services staff member. Acclimating to a new job, learning a new skill set, and increasing work responsibilities can be challenging itself, but Carolynn managed to complete her duties and commitments in contact lens while also providing weekly coverage to PIC. As we near Narayan being at PIC full time, I can’t help but recognize Carolynn for the time and effort she has dedicated in helping both departments run seamlessly while also assisting in training Narayan for future success!” Thank you, Carolynn, for your outstanding dedication and teamwork.

Have you witnessed an attending, intern, or staff member displaying an exceptional effort to go above and beyond to serve a patient? If so, nominate them for the next edition’s “Service Spotlight”.” Send your nominations to Dr. Nixon at Nixon.24@osu.edu.

This month’s service spotlight shines upon Joseph Finneran. As our Health System Administration Analyst 2, Joe is responsible for the patient care functioning elements within Compulink. As such, he is the architect of screen changes like the one deployed last week regarding the new Obj/Ref tab in the exam layout. After devoting over three months to build the new tab, it was thought that it would be a simple “flip of a switch” to add the tab to our existing layouts. However, at the last minute it ended up requiring a complete reconfiguration of every tab for all 14 exam layouts that took five hours to complete. The heroic part of this story is that Joe returned from vacation at 11:30 p.m. on the Sunday night before the planned rollout of these changes on Monday. Instead of delaying the rollout to later in the week, he stayed up until 4:30 a.m. to ensure that the new screens were ready as scheduled. Thank you Joe for your outstanding dedication and for managing ongoing improvements to our EHR.

Have you witnessed an attending, intern, or staff member displaying an exceptional effort to go above and beyond to serve a patient? If so, nominate them for the next edition’s “Service Spotlight.” Send your nominations to Dr. Nixon at Nixon.24@osu.edu.

This month’s service spotlight shines upon Dr. Zac Coates. The clinic staff member nominating Dr. Coates states:

“Dr. Coates demonstrates the qualities of a true team player. When unplanned outages arise, Dr. Coates has stepped in to ensure patient care continues smoothly. Additionally, Dr. Coates consistently receives outstanding patient reviews, leaving a positive and lasting impression on everyone he interacts with. His commitment to patient care is evident in his clear communication style and willingness to answer questions. He is also a valuable resource for the entire staff. He takes time to explain complex ocular cases in a way that is understandable and educational. This fosters a positive culture of learning and growth within the team, allowing everyone to become more knowledgeable about eye health and better serve our patient base. The demonstrated dedication to patient care teamwork and staff development deserves recognition.”

Have you witnessed an attending, intern, or staff member displaying an exceptional effort to go above and beyond to serve a patient? If so, nominate them for the next edition’s “Service Spotlight.” Send your nominations to Dr. Nixon at Nixon.24@osu.edu.

This month’s service spotlight shines upon two valued staff members. Billing office manager Kelly Kennedy was the first person in our organization to achieve the designation of a Certified Paraoptometric Coder (CPOC) by the American Optometric Association. This involved passage of an exam administered by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies and signifies “proficiency, expertise, and validating superior knowledge in an optometric coding environment.” Kudos, Kelly!

Main clinic patient registration coordinator Chelsea Tucker was recognized for her dedicated caring and service.

“My (101-year-old) mom had severe pain in her right eye. So I decided for her to be seen. When I arrived, I could not find a temporary parking space in order to wheel my mom in. I was not going to have her in the cold, nor have her walk from the parking garage. I was becoming a bit frustrated as there was no place to even stop and put my flashers on. I had already circled the building twice. I then decided to just pull in the back lot and attempt to take my mom down the back stairs. Just as I parked, Chelsea appeared. They asked if I needed help. Chelsea, took my mom’s walker and helped me place it by our back stairs. She met me with a wheelchair in the front of the building, stood in the cold without a coat and wheeled my mom in. By the time I entered our building, Chelsea had taken care of all of the preliminaries and wheeled my mom to the second floor. She turned, what began as a stressful morning, into a grateful morning for my mother and I both. I am so thankful to work with such caring people such as Chelsea Tucker.”

Have you witnessed an attending, intern, or staff member displaying an exceptional effort to go above and beyond to serve a patient? If so, nominate them for the next edition’s “Service Spotlight.” Send your nomination to Dr. Nixon at Nixon.24@osu.edu.

This month’s service spotlight shines upon two of our most talented attendings. This excerpt was taken from a recent patient review:

“Drs. Toole and Fritts-Davis couldn’t have been more expert, knowledgeable, or gracious. I traveled from Florida to visit them for Aniseikonia, and they were excellent at what they did and services provided. Your clinic is by far the most advanced in the country for this eye condition.”

Have you witnessed an attending, intern, or staff member displaying an exceptional effort to go above and beyond to serve a patient? If so, nominate them for the next edition’s “Service Spotlight.” Send your nominations to Dr. Nixon at Nixon.24@osu.edu.

This month’s service spotlight shines upon two outstanding members of the BVP Service. A patient wrote a heartfelt thank you note to Freda Dallas and Dr. Earley for the impact they both have had on her life. Here are a few excerpts from her letter:

• “Dr. Earley was the first person to truly understand my TBI after more than a year of seeing other optometrists and many medical practitioners. Thank you for taking the time to read my file, listen, and for already knowing exactly what I had been saying to so many others for over a year. Dr. Earley’s explanations are suburb and have helped me make sense of symptoms that were dismissed, worsened, or overlooked by others. His expertise, understanding of this patient, and willingness to create plans of action and follow through with them, while altering them as needed, have impacted me in ways I can’t even describe! Dr. Earley is a magnificent and incredible practitioner whose brilliance and approach are unsurpassed by any specialist I’ve ever met.”
• “Freda is an exceptional person and invaluable asset to this program! Her attention and willingness to go above and beyond for patients has also made a tremendous difference. Another person in her role may have simply moved on when I said I didn’t see the point of scheduling any more appts with OSU after continuing to decline or stagnate for so long. But not Freda! She talked to me like the compassionate, knowledgeable and wonderful person she is, and asked if I would give treatment for my conditions another try if she could get me in to Dr. Early. It is not every day where someone does something to change someone’s life for the better. Both Freda and Dr. Earley have changed mine! I remain grateful beyond words.”

Have you witnessed an attending, intern, or staff member displaying an exceptional effort to go above and beyond to serve a patient? If so, nominate them for the next edition’s “Service Spotlight.” Send your nominations to Dr. Nixon at Nixon.24@osu.edu.

This month’s service spotlight shines upon two outstanding members of the Class of 2025. Dwight Chen is a part-time student worker in our BVP Service. On a busy afternoon clinic day in June, there was a full schedule with a 100% show rate. In addition, a patient not scheduled until the following day showed up a day early. With all of the fourth-year interns already with patients, Dwight excitedly volunteered to help. This resulted in Dwight getting his white coat and clinic equipment and seeing the extra BVP patient under the supervision of Dr. Morrison. Despite being in third-year clinic for only half a semester, Dr. Morrison said that Dwight did a wonderful job in his first ever BVP experience and was a huge help to BVP docs and interns. Similarly, Ian Binns rose to the occasion dealing with a complicated and high-stakes patient encounter. Dr. Coates remarked on the calm, cool demeanor and levelheaded decision making Ian displayed in getting his AOC patient set up for a same-day referral to the emergency room. Dr. Coates also credits referral coordinator Clare McDermott for going above and beyond. In addition to calling the ER to communicate the urgent needs of our patient, she personally hand delivered the exam records and special testing images to the ER to help aid accurate diagnosis and management for the patient. We are so grateful for our superstar interns and our wonderfully dedicated, caring staff who work so hard each and every day to advocate for the patients we have the privilege to serve.

Have you witnessed an attending, intern, or staff member displaying an exceptional effort to go above and beyond to serve a patient? If so, nominate them for the next edition’s “Service Spotlight.” Send your nominations to Dr. Nixon at Nixon.24@osu.edu.

This month’s service spotlight shines upon Freda Dallas. In addition to the exemplary patient care that Freda displays every day, she participates in college events that educate the public on the importance of a lifetime of quality eye and vision care try to extend our patient base. For example, she represented Optometry Services at a wellness fair this past autumn. In April, she participated in the WOSU Second Saturday Kids Day along with our OOA RealEyes friends. She dazzled kids and parents with information about vision and learning resulting in scheduling several children for their first ever eye exam. In May, Freda volunteered her time to participate in an OOA video supporting the optometry scope of practice legislation. We are so grateful for Freda fully embracing the mission of the college being such a wonderful advocate for the patients we have the privilege to serve.

Have you witnessed an attending, intern, or staff member displaying an exceptional effort to go above and beyond to serve a patient? If so, nominate them for the next edition’s “Service Spotlight.” Send your nominations to Dr. Nixon at Nixon.24@osu.edu.

This month’s service spotlight shines upon Dr. Tatevik Movsisyan. She has served as a Clinical Assistant Professor of Practice for the past six academic years as well as serving as the Advanced Ocular Care Service Chief for the last year and a half. During that time, she has bestowed her clinical wisdom on myriads of students in the clinic and clinic procedures laboratories. She is loved by her students who remark on her straightforward clinical decision-making process, calm demeanor, and compassion for patients. It is with mixed emotions that I share the news that Dr. Movsisyan will be leaving her academic career after this spring semester to take a job at the Detroit VA closer to her family. We are grateful for all that she has contributed to the college during her time here. While she will be missed, Dr. Movsisyan will always be part of the Buckeye Optometry family and we wish her well in her future endeavors. Stay tuned for details of Dr. Movsisyan’s farewell reception.

Have you witnessed an attending, intern, or staff member displaying an exceptional effort to go above and beyond to serve a patient? If so, nominate them for the next edition’s “Service Spotlight.” Send your nominations to Dr. Nixon at Nixon.24@osu.edu.

This month’s service spotlight shines upon three OPT III interns who rose to the occasion in a time of need. Upon hearing that the OPT II clinic was short on patients, Cora McHugh, Sidney Parks, and Emily Benson sprang into action by calling on volunteers with a group text, running home to take out contact lenses, and rushing to clinic to serve as patients themselves. OPT II Clinic Chief Carissa Janczak stated, “They understood how important it was to get a patient during OPT II clinic and truly wanted to help out their fellow colleagues. I feel so privileged to be in a community where I can rely on so many members just itching to help out. True teamwork and dedication.”

Have you witnessed an attending, intern, or staff member displaying an exceptional effort to go above and beyond to serve a patient? If so, nominate them for the next edition’s “Service Spotlight.” Send your nominations to Dr. Nixon at Nixon.24@osu.edu.