EyeOn Patients - Illinois College of Optometry

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Eye On Patients In some respects, walking into the Illinois Eye Institute these days is like walking into the lobby of an upscale inn. Guest Services Representative, Mary Meaders, greets you with a smile, points out the Café and directs you past the shiny, glassblock walls and cheery faces of fourth-year students in the newly-remodeled Fait Family Eyewear Center. Everywhere the emphasis is on customer service as well as top-notch patient care. The Foundation The physical renovations are the result of a cultural redesign at IEI and its founder, the Illinois College of Optometry. Initiated in the mid-1980s, the goal was to create a comprehensive facility where optometrists serve as primary eyecare providers. Then, in 1997, when former ICO President Charles 7 ICO Matters / Spring 2005 The Illinois Eye Institute sees further growth. Looking Ahead Mullen, OD, arrived at the College, he initiated a plan for IEI that focused on being competitive in attracting patients and increasing revenue streams. This was not the original role of ICO’s clinical arm. Established alongside the College as a teaching resource for students, the “Eye Clinic,” as it was called, was a less-ambitious place in the beginning. According to Derrald Taylor, OD ’68, who has been at ICO for 34 years and served as Clinical Director for seven years in the late 70s and early 80s, “It was a relatively small clinical and college operation.” But, Taylor says, it began to grow as the College expanded its curriculum. Eventually the Eye Clinic moved from a separate building to digs of its own under the same roof as the College. It was renamed the Illinois Eye Institute in the mid-1980s, and it began to broaden the scope of services it offered – to both stu-
dents and patients – to reflect advances in the profession. “There used to be more emphasis just on vision itself,” Taylor says. “Now we focus on vision, eye pathology and rehabilitation.” Those changes in the practice of optometry were heralded by eye doctors such as Mullen. As part of the “Prescription for Excellence,” his plan for strengthening the institution, IEI’s attention to marketing and increasing revenue immediately began to pay off. From 1997 to 1998, the first year of the plan, patient visits were already up 4 percent. Early projections in the second year saw a 16 percent increase. The Patients Everything began to grow. According to Taylor, “The staff has quadrupled.” Today 60 faculty members and 10 residents work in the clinic, and the number of patient visits is increasing by left to right: Drs. Michael Chaglasian and Leonard Messner the thousands every year. Between the years 2001 and 2004, encounters increased nearly 15,000, to 75,693 last year. A lot of the clinic’s success is due to Leonard Messner, OD, Vice President for Patient Care Services at the Eye Institute. Messner came to ICO in 1985 to be chief of a primary care suite. He brought a private-practice mentality that values patient satisfaction most. He remains oriented that way today. “I’m always trying to think of the patient first,” he says. “Everything we do comes down to treating our patients well, whether that’s comprehensive eye care or providing transportation so they can get here.” As has always been the case, the patient population at the Illinois Eye Institute is based in its neighborhood, Bronzeville, on the south side of Chicago. Twenty-five percent is on Medicare and 50 percent on Medicaid. “The majority of the Spring 2005 / ICO Matters 8
Page 1 and 2: Magazine of the Illinois College of
Page 3 and 4: Board of Trustees James R. Butler,
Page 5 and 6: A Message from the President “Mom
Page 7: Philip Hottel, OD ’48, has made a
Page 11 and 12: Customer Service Representatives (l
Page 13 and 14: Behind the scenes at the Fait Famil
Page 15 and 16: A Great Return When Valerie Kattouf
Page 17 and 18: Obituaries 1920 E.D. Newman has pas
Page 19 and 20: Welcome aboard! New Trustees bring
Page 21 and 22: Leadership Circle Leadership Circle

EyeOn Patients - Illinois College of Optometry

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