Delaware and surrounding communities have a new eye care option to consider with the opening of The Eye Care Studio at 3769 Columbus Pike, Suite 115. The studio officially opened on April 4 and serves as a full-scope family practice, meaning it welcomes patients 6 months and older.
Services offered by the studio include annual exams, contact lenses, glasses and more. Dr. Ame Cline, an optometrist who owns the practice, said her special interests are in dry eye treatments.
“Almost one in every three people have some symptoms of dry eye, and just from personal experience and family members, that has become a passion of mine to help because it just really gets in the way of a patient’s ability to do the things they want to do,” she said.
For children, in particular, Cline said she is excited to offer myopia control services. Myopia, or nearsightedness, in children will only get worse as they age, but Cline said that with new technology available in some contact lenses, the progression of myopia can be curved.
Cline, who is nearsighted herself, said, “If I could just cut my prescription in half or maybe more, that would just make a huge difference in my day-to-day life. So that has become a really special interest of mine in the last two years because that technology has just gotten approved in the United States.”
Cline spent the past 12 years practicing in Dublin but said she always wanted to own her own practice in order to be able to offer more services to the community, as well as be more involved throughout that community. A resident of Powell, Cline said she and her husband have spent a lot of time enjoying Delaware, making it the right location to open the practice.
“I have met so many great, friendly people, and it’s been a great area to work with,” Cline said. “Businesswise, everyone that we’ve interacted with has been wonderful. It just was a really good fit. The area is obviously growing, which is exciting, and it’s an area where we felt like we could give back to the community well and be able to get involved more easily.”
Prior to starting her own practice, Cline had handled many of the daily operation responsibilities at her former practice, making for a smooth transition into becoming an owner. Now with full control of the direction of her own practice, Cline can enact her vision of what she wants the practice to represent.
“It’s been really exciting to be able to make choices that I think are more beneficial for my patients and just be able to bring more services that I wasn’t able to offer before,” she said.
While an eye care facility first and foremost, referring to the practice as a studio wasn’t without purpose for Cline. An avid enjoyer of art, Cline wants her practice to be as much about engaging with the community as it is about helping its patients. Her first step in doing just that has been to open the walls of her studio to the many talented artists who fill the local schools.
When designing the studio, Cline said she emphasized having a long hallway where student art could decorate the walls. She anticipates having a gallery night twice a year where the community is invited to meet the artists whose pieces have been on display for six months at a time before changing out the art.
“I just naturally love art,” she said. “It’s something that I have always had an interest in, and part of what I wanted to do with the practice is to be involved in the community and be a source in the community to kind of show off certain things that might not normally get exposure.”
Cline said her daughter has always been interested in art, and those creations can always be found throughout their home. With Cline’s husband being a teacher at Shanahan Middle School in the Olentangy Local School District, Cline wanted to offer a space where student art could gain exposure beyond the schools and homes.
“We have sports teams that we can all go watch, and they usually have larger crowds. But the artists, they might have one show a year, if that,” Cline said. “They just don’t get to show off their amazing talents, and there are so many talented kiddos in the area.”
In addition to being a platform for students to gain the exposure they deserve, the art also serves to build ambiance within the building and, perhaps, relieve some of the tension that naturally comes with visits to any doctor.
“Our goal for the office is just to be really welcoming and caring,” Cline said. “It just adds a softer touch to everything. A lot of times when you’re going into a medical office, it’s very sterile and a little cold, and people are already a little nervous when they’re going to see any medical professional. It’s really nice to be able to soften that up and make patients feel more comfortable.”
Of course, the patients aren’t the only ones who benefit from the vibrancy the art provides to the building. Cline said that as she walks up and down the hall each day, she always tends to find a detail of a piece she hadn’t before noticed. “It’s really neat,” she said.
Cline went on to say, “We are really excited to be in Delaware and are really looking forward to meeting as many people in the community as we can. I like to joke around that I am a little bit of an eye nerd, and I will talk to anyone and everyone about how we can help their eyes feel better, look better and see better. We just want to take care of the community because we’re happy to be a part of it.”
To learn more about The Eye Care Studio, call 740-761-2020 or visit www.theeyecarestudio.com.
