For Your Eyes Only

3210PortageAve.,Winnipeg 2048372020 WestwoodOptical celebrates30years ofprofessionalfamily eyecare! Eyeexams,glasses andcontactlenses. Optometrists • DrGaryBlake • DrElizabethDrew • DrJanelleDriedger • DrChristineJohnston • DrNealSingh • DrAveriVanDam Mostmajorvisionplansaccepted. iT Was one Man's Vision THaT laUncHed THis THriVing pracTice THree decades ago. n ow Westwood Optical Family Eye Care is celebrating its 30th anniversary with a firm focus on the future. In 1984, Dr. Gary Blake opened the doors to his one-optometrist office. Six years later, Dr. Elizabeth Drew joined him as an associate doctor before becoming his full partner in 2005. "It started off in '84 as a one-doctor show, and we're now a thriving practice with six doctors and 11 staff," Drew said. "It's one of the bigger independent practices. We're locally owned, we're private, and we're not associated with any big box companies." In addition to Blake and Drew, optometrist Christine Johnston has been at Westwood Optical for 12 years and Dr. Neal Singh has been involved for nearly a decade. The newest members of the team, doctors Janelle Driedger and Averi Van Dam, joined Westwood Optical this year. "By offering more doctors, we can service the patient base better. We're a growing business and, ultimately, that's what we want," Drew said. "We always want to stay on top of technology advances and offer the best to the patients so that they have a fully comprehensive and thorough eye exam when they come here." By keeping a close eye on client services, the business continues to grow. "Some of the adults who brought their kids here 30 years ago are now grandparents. They're still coming and their children are coming and now their children's children are coming. We've had three generations' worth that come here," Drew said. "Everything's under one roof here. You have your doctor, your eye care and your eyeglasses, so we look after the whole package. We have the whole patient in mind with everything in one location here." Over the years, Drew has seen optometry become more medically oriented, leading to an eye-care evolution of sorts. "We offer high-tech technology to fully screen the eyes. We have a retinal camera, which takes photographs of the back of the eye. We have a visual field analyzer, which is a screening test for some visual field losses. This all helps us to manage medical conditions in the eye," she said. "And as of last year, optometrists were granted the right to prescribe therapeutic drugs for the eyes, which we were never able to do before. Patients can be treated sooner versus having to be referred to someone else to take care of something that we can handle." They also plan to offer Optical Coherence Tomography, which is similar to an ultrasound but uses light waves instead of sound waves. This OCT instrument is useful for assessing and monitoring eye diseases such as macular degeneration. When it comes to glasses frames, the team attends industry-leading conferences and frame shows each year, so they always aim to offer the newest styles and designs. "Because we're independent, we have access to some local labs as well as to some different lens choices that some of the bigger box stores don't have access to," Drew said. "We're able to offer more. Some of the frame lines that we carry are exclusive to optometrists or exclusive to only a couple of optical shops, so you're not going to find some of the frames elsewhere." To celebrate their 30th anniversary, they will host a two-day trunk show and sale on Oct. 3 and 4 at Westwood Optical, located at 3210 Portage Ave. "We're going to feature the complete frame collections of many of our leading designer brands. When I say complete collection, that means every piece of every line of every collection. There are different colours and sizes, and all of that will be in the office those days," Drew said. "For those days, we're offering 50 per cent off on the frames that we're going to be featuring in the office." Company founder Blake welcomes everyone to drop by for the festivities and to return for future services. "The advantage of being an independent office is that we have a little bit more freedom in seeking out and providing what we feel are the best performing products," Blake said. "We're always interested in the long-term care of our patients." WesTWood opTical celebraTes 30 years by Jennifer Mcfee FOR ThE FREE PRESS

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