EyeOn Patients - Illinois College of Optometry

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