Virginia Eye Institute Shines Light on Pediatric Eye Screenings with NBC12 About Town Feature
In a recent spotlight on local NBC12 About Town, Virginia Eye Institute took center stage to underscore the critical significance of pediatric eye screenings. The feature emphasized the pivotal role early eye examinations play in safeguarding children’s visual health and overall well-being.
With children’s eye health often overlooked, Virginia Eye Institute aims to raise awareness about the importance of proactive eye care from a young age. Through insightful commentary and expert guidance, Dr. Inna Marcus and Dr. Anjali Patel highlighted the necessity of regular pediatric eye screenings in detecting potential vision problems early on.
March Artist of the Month – Ronnie T.
VEI is excited to announce Ronnie T. as our March Artist of the Month
Ronnie was born in Lawrenceville, Virginia, and is one of 15 children. He is a father of two sons and a grandfather to 10 grandkids! He started out sketching and then later took up painting and doing wood carvings. Despite not having any formal training he has a love of art and nature. He cherishes the opportunity to display his work. You can come to see some of his pieces all month long at our Huguenot office.
February Artist of the Month: Sam Mathias & Faith Rowland
VEI is proud to display two artists for the month of February: Sam Mathias & Faith Rowland.
I’m Sam, I’m a family and elopement photographer here in Mechanicsville, Virginia. And I love it here! Behind the camera besides being a huge fan of jokes and puns, I’m a cat mom of 4. I’m always down for tacos and spaghetti. I’m slightly obsessed with the national parks and my goal is to visit as many as possible. I absolutely jump at any chance to travel, so that’s when I dive in with my landscape pictures! Besides loving the blue skies with ocean views, or mountains rolling in the distance, I’ll always enjoy being super goofy, while, capturing the genuine smiles from kids and loving partners!
Richmond based artist, Faith Rowland, specializes in abstract oil painting displaying a strong understanding of color.
Her love of animals and nature inspires much of her bold paintings. With a background in dance, special effects makeup, woodworking and fine arts, Faith believes art can happily bring people together. Much of her creativity is brightly captured on canvas, however, those four stretcher bars are never the limit.
“It is when I am creating with my hands, that my soul is truly at peace.” – Faith Rowland
For more on Faith and her work, check out her Instagram @loveferart
January Artist of the month: Sam Mathias
I’m Sam, I’m a family and elopement photographer here in Mechanicsville, Virginia. And I love it here! Behind the camera besides being a huge fan of jokes and puns, I’m a cat mom of 4. I’m always down for tacos and spaghetti. I’m slightly obsessed with the national parks and my goal is to visit as many as possible. I absolutely jump at any chance to travel, so that’s when I dive in with my landscape pictures! Besides loving the blue skies with ocean views, or mountains rolling in the distance, I’ll always enjoy being super goofy, while, capturing the genuine smiles from kids and loving partners!
November Artist of the Month – Bon Air Artists Association
The Bon Air Artists Association:
In 1974 Jeannette Kaulfers founded The Bon Air Artists Association to further stimulate her students’ avid interest in art. The club encourages and nurtures a love of art by offering educational programs, promoting the arts in the greater Richmond community, and giving emerging artists the chance to gather, share and learn from each other.
Today as a thriving 501(c)3 organization, BAAA draws artists at all levels of experience from around the Richmond region. Its diverse membership includes beginning artists striving to hone their skills and begin exhibiting, all the way up to artists with regional or national recognition. Some members teach; some lead international art workshops, some are accepted into prestigious national art groups. Many started at BAAA as beginners and are happy to share their skills and knowledge with newer members. We work together to raise funds for local art-related programs in need, with an impressive list of past recipients.
The Bon Air Artists Association meets regularly for its business and educational programs the first Friday of each month (except July & August) at 9:30 AM at the Bon Air Christian Church, 2071 buford Road, North Chesterfield, 23235. December and June meetings usually include luncheons. For more information, contact Membership Chair, Lee Austin (davidleeaustin@verizon.net) or President, Sally Guynn (sally@guynngroup.com).
The Painting Class is a small painting school for adults who love painting and the arts. Classes take place 3 times a week in 10 week sessions of 3 hours each, 4 seasons of the year. Class sizes range from 8-12 students per session, from professional painters who have spent their lives painting to those who want to make time to learn to paint. The muse within each of us begins with the step to begin and then the joy of creating takes over. Artists all know that it takes work to grow and improve our artistic skills and its a pleasure to do it in the company of other artists!
Here at the painting class we see that magic happen every week.
VEI would like to thank Dr. Brown for her decades of service to VEI and the local community as we wish her well as she begins her new chapter of life in retirement. Dr. Brown, an esteemed ophthalmologist at the Virginia Eye Institute, specialized in cornea and external diseases of the eye, pediatric ophthalmology, and adult strabismus. Her skill and expertise were evident in every aspect of her work, but it was her heart for service that truly set her apart.
A Future Fueled by Vision
As Dr. Donna Brown enters the next chapter of her life in retirement, her focus remains steadfast on making a difference. Her plans include spending time in her beloved second home, St. Vincent, continuing her involvement with World Pediatric Project (WPP), and contributing to strategic planning. With her expertise and unwavering dedication, she envisions a future where medical care is accessible to all, where bridges are built between nations, and where the spirit of service continues to thrive.
Gratitude and Beyond
As we reflect on Dr. Brown’s journey, we are filled with gratitude for the countless lives she has touched, the communities she has uplifted, and the profound impact she has made. Her story serves as an inspiration to us all, a reminder that each of us holds the power to create change, to offer compassion, and to leave a lasting legacy. As Dr. Brown enters this new phase of her life, we celebrate her accomplishments, honor her dedication, and eagerly anticipate the next chapter in her remarkable journey.
Congratulations, Dr. Donna Brown, on a retirement well-deserved and a legacy well-lived. May your days ahead be filled with joy, fulfillment, and the knowledge that your kindness has forever transformed lives.
VEI’s Artist of the Month is Bob Waldrop with his photography company: momentNtime.
momentNtime is my vision of the wildlife and other landscapes or boats or interesting moments I see, shared with you through my lens. I enjoy taking and sharing these images. This hobby has given me so much joy, and in turn I want to share that joy with anyone who is interested. Please contact me if you would like a digital copy of any of my photos. While I am not charging a fee for my work, I may ask that you make a donation to the wildlife charity of your choice. In short, please enjoy these.
Light Adjustable Lens (LAL) and VEI’s Interview with Channel 12 to Discuss Its Benefits
Virginia Eye Institute is excited to be offering the Light Adjustable Lens for cataract surgery. The Light Adjustable Lens, or LAL, is the first and only lens that can be customized after cataract surgery. Patients can now truly design their own vision by working with their eye care physician to customize their visual outcome. Customization is done through a short series of painless office-based light treatment procedures that only take a few minutes each. Talk to your doctor to see if the LAL is right for you. Check out our informative video below from our interview with Channel 12!
August Artist of the Month – JRAL
James River Art League (JRAL) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization of more than 130 juried member artists from throughout Central Virginia. Our goal is to encourage the creation and appreciation of the visual arts. We provide our member artists with motivation, association, and continuing education through programs that feature qualified artists and art professionals, and we provide opportunities for members to exhibit artwork in venues throughout the Richmond area.
The Painting Class is a small painting school for adults who love painting and the arts. Classes take place 3 times a week in 10 week sessions of 3 hours each, 4 seasons of the year. Class sizes range from 8-12 students per session, from professional painters who have spent their lives painting to those who want to make time to learn to paint. The muse within each of us begins with the step to begin and then the joy of creating takes over. Artists all know that it takes work to grow and improve our artistic skills and its a pleasure to do it in the company of other artists!
Here at the painting class we see that magic happen every week.
Started in January 2012 Instructor/owner:Brenda Stankus Location:1229 Bellevue Avenue, RVA 23227 Contact:text 804-564-6979
Reflections of a Departing CEO: Brad Smith on His Career and the Future of VEI
Brad Smith, the CEO of VEI for the past 11 years, is retiring in September. As he wraps up his last days on the job, we asked him to reflect on his career and share some parting thoughts.
“While my last day at the helm is not until September 29th, the time has come to open the opportunity for someone else to take on the leadership role and responsibilities for VEI. The future of VEI is very positive, and I look forward to seeing the organization continue to thrive and grow with the support of our staff, doctors, and community partners and contributors. From the bottom of my heart, thank you all for the support you have provided.”
1. What prompted you to pursue a career in eyecare?Having been a hospital and large multi-specialty group CEO earlier in my career, I was looking for a challenging role in a dynamic and complex operation for which I believed I could provide significant contributions but also learn about a new specialty that had always held great appeal. Ophthalmology and Optometry have fulfilled that aspiration and serving in the capacity has resulted in the most rewarding eleven years of my over 40-year career in healthcare.
2. What was the biggest change VEI went through while you were CEO?Over the past decade we have managed to overcome many challenges while continuously improving our operations and the caliber of our team. Our investments in infrastructure have positioned VEI for sustained growth and the ability to seize new market opportunities while preparing the organization to endure the challenges facing the healthcare industry. A continued focus on standardizing process, leveraging technology and gaining efficiency will create an even better operating model to take advantage of the constantly changing and increasingly competitive healthcare environment. The biggest single change I have witnessed is the composition of the group due to an influx of new physicians that have and will be joining the organization to replace retiring providers.
3. What will you miss most about the job?I have been honored and blessed to have been associated with an incredibly talented team of professionals who have worked with me over these past 10+ years and supported both myself and VEI throughout our journey together. I have made lifelong friends and colleagues throughout the process and look forward to seeing VEI grow and prosper in the future.
4. What is the biggest challenge VEI faces in the future, and how prepared is the organization to meet that challenge?First, VEI is in a very good condition and is on strong financial footing. We have a very gifted team of providers and associates that will continue to deliver world-class eye care services. The healthcare landscape is changing rapidly and VEI’s ability to remain nimble, efficient, and ready to pivot to meet new challenges will position it for long-term stability and success. It will require a constant team effort and collaboration throughout the organization to meet these challenges and remain the preeminent provider of eyecare in the commonwealth. The advent of new technology and artificial intelligence holds great promise for eyecare, and thoughtful adoption of these technologies will allow VEI to provide the highest level of service resulting in optimal provider, patient and associate satisfaction. I am confident that the groundwork has been laid to take advantage of every opportunity to catapult VEI into the future!
5. What is the biggest misconception people have about VEI? That VEI is “the place to go for eye surgery.” VEI delivers a very wide range of eyecare services with highly skilled providers on par with large academic centers but with a personal touch that results in superior outcomes. Patients have a real say in their care, and that is a huge difference as compared to other eyecare franchises or private equity owned practices whose focus is not the same.
6. What was the hardest part of your job over the years?Probably the hardest part of the job was trying to balance the need to make investments in our staff, facilities, and equipment in order to maintain the highest level of sophistication and reliability while also solving the value equation. Every year Medicare and private payers continue to drive down reimbursement while expenses continue to rise. One of the most difficult parts of the jobs is maintaining parity in an environment like this. VEI is very fortunate to be a locally owned and operated organization led by physicians that are focused on reinvesting in operations to achieve the highest level of quality.
7. What stands out as your biggest accomplishment in your 10 years with VEI? Positioning the organization for future success while working through the constant challenges we face as a profession. We continued providing services to patients with critical eyecare needs despite unprecedented challenges during the pandemic. While these challenges at times seemed nearly insurmountable, I’m immensely proud of our team for using ingenuity and creativity to overcome these challenges, integrate new technologies, and develop workflows to gain efficiency, break down barriers, and improve the patient experience and access for those we serve on an ongoing basis. Fostering continued growth and diversification of services, locations, and providers has been a very rewarding experience and accomplishment.
8. Looking back at your career, knowing what you know now, is there anything that you would do differently?Yes, I would have listened more often to the advice of my wife, Peggy, reminding me there is more to life than work! It is important to keep things in balance, and I probably could have done better at times. I’ve been fortunate to have had a career doing something I am extraordinarily passionate about with the added benefit of having made wonderful friends along the way. I wish I could have spent more time visiting with staff at all of the locations, something I thoroughly enjoy. Otherwise, I have nothing but great memories and am immensely proud of what I have been able to help accomplish for those that I have been fortunate enough to work with throughout my career.
9. What advice do you have for the new CEO?To take the time to get to know this amazing organization and involve the associates in change that will be necessary drive future success. Don’t be afraid to try new ideas. We all learn more from our failures than our successes, and, always remain humble.
10. What are your plans for retirement?To catch up on life outside of work. I enjoy working on projects, making improvements around the house and just relaxing by the lake. I hope to enjoy some of my hobbies like woodworking, boating, and helping my daughters on various projects they have been saving for their dad.
VEI at Special Olympics RVA
VEI had a blast this year, volunteering at the Opening Eyes event at University of Richmond this past Saturday! The 2023 Summer Games brought more than 1200 athletes, 2000 volunteers, and countless supporters this weekend in the RVA Special Olympics’ largest annual competition. VEI helped provide new free glasses and vision screenings for all of the athletes competing. Thank you to Megan Brunswick, Lisbeth Diaz, and Jessica Fenning who made this possible.
June Artist of the Month – Focus Group Camera Club
Early in 1989, conversations among friends who shared a love of photography crystallized into the Focus Group Camera Club. The purpose of the Club was to learn more about photography, to inspire, encourage and learn with each other.
Through the years, members have arranged field trips, locally to Virginia’s parks and historical areas, and sometimes out of state to National Parks and other special destinations. The Club has sponsored community seminars featuring nationally known professional photographers including Stephen Johnson, Freeman Patterson, John Shaw and Jim Zuckerman. In addition to lectures, the professionals take club members for a day of instruction in the field.
The Club sponsors an annual exhibition, displaying what we consider to be our best photographs of the year. Exhibitions are also hung around the Metro Richmond area throughout the year. The Club currently maintains a website and a Facebook page at www.facebook.com/focusgroupcameraclubva/ Focus Group Camera Club welcomes anyone interested in becoming a member and experiencing this wonderful visual medium. For information contact info@focusgroupcc.com.
VEI Wins Best of Virginia
VEI has won Best Eye Doctor in Virginia Living’s ‘Best of Virginia’ issue! We’re so thrilled to announce that we have received this amazing award and recognition for the Central Virginia region. Thank you so much to all of the amazing people who cast their vote for us.
Nearly half a million votes were cast in 104 categories, covering the best in Food & Drink, Living & Recreation, Services, and Shopping across the Commonwealth’s five regions. “Best of Virginia is all about championing the small businesses, the local haunts, and the mom and pop shops,” says Vayda Tarleton, associate editor, special projects. “Without our reader and voters, this special issue wouldn’t be the go-to reference that it is today.”
May Artist of the Month
Meet Karen Roodman, May artist at VEI
With a fusion of dynamic color, creative design and energy, Karen’s paintings reflect passion for art that is inspired by life.
In her teens, she experimented with painting, multi-media work and ceramics while pursuing a deep interest in Ballet. Later, she became a Master Pilates Instructor and earned a Master’s Degree in Kinesiology. A thorough knowledge of the human body and dance movement influences her artistic style and abstract expressionism. Each of her paintings comes from her heart and evokes the incredible emotions of curiosity and happiness. Karen is a “regular” at Crossroads Art Center where she paints weekly with other local artists.
A bold use of color is present in all of her paintings, capturing the beauty of shapes, nature, cityscape, and people. With an intuitive and thoughtful artistry, her work can be found on display at medical offices, the public library, restaurants and will soon be a contributing artist to the new Ronald McDonald House at Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU.
Playing With Light
VEI is proud to sponsor the Science Museum of Virginia’s newest exhibit: Playing with Light. The exhibit opened on February 11th. It takes a deep dive into all the different ways we interact with light in the world around us. The exhibit uses a variety of scientific disciplines in fun, interactive exhibits to help break down the science behind light and how light is perceived.
VEI has it’s own Optics activity cart located within the exhibit. One of our doctors will be assisting with a cow eye dissection on Sunday, February 26 and Sunday, March 5th. Join us in taking a closer look at how we view the world and the light all around us at this wonderful exhibit. Get info and tickets.
February & March Artists of the Month
VEI is excited to announce Ronnie T. and his wife Cheryl as our February and March Artists of the Month. Ronnie was born in Lawrenceville, Virginia, and is one of 15 children. He is a father of two sons and a grandfather to 10 grand kids! He started out sketching and then later took up painting and doing wood carvings. Despite not having any formal training he has a love of art and nature. He cherishes the opportunity to display his work. You can come to see some of his pieces all month long at our Huguenot office.
February 2023 marks his second time showing his work at VEI.
Supporting Continued Education at VEI
Here at VEI, continued education is not only supported, but encouraged. Many of our staff members have accomplished the completion of new certifications while working for VEI. Chelsea Holder recently completed her SHRM-CP Certification and we had a chance to ask her some questions about her experience. We’re so proud of our staff for working so hard to continue their education.
What is the SHRM-CP Certification and how did you prepare for it?
SHRM-CP stands for Society for Human Resources Management – Certified Professional. The test was a computer exam that consisted of knowledge-based and scenario-based and/or judgement questions. Prior to the exam, I joined a study group with other HR professionals in the Richmond area. We met every Thursday night to review the content we had been focused on that week. We met for 12 weeks! I was so nervous to test, but was surprised to find that when I started the test that I was over prepared. Thanks Richmond SHRM!
Why did you want to become certified?
When I first realized my passion for HR, I came across the SHRM exam in my research and passing the exam automatically became a goal of mine. I never want to stop learning and growing and this certification seemed like the perfect opportunity to expand my HR knowledge and demonstrate commitment to the HR profession.
What part did VEI play in your certification process?
I have always been amazed at all of the certified professionals we have here at VEI and all those that are committed to their education and continued growth. I see so many of you pursuing and achieving your goals and it really motivated me to do the same! Thank you VEI associates for the motivation to succeed! Virginia Eye Institute also has great benefits and is super supportive when it comes to continuing education. I am lucky to be apart of an organization that pushes me to learn and grow!
January Artist of the Month – Max Perry
Max Perry is a painter, animator, illustrator, filmmaker, and musician based in Richmond, Virginia. He is a graduate of Roanoke College (BA), Virginia Commonwealth University (BFA), and American University (MFA).
Since 2009, he has exhibited animated short films internationally which have been well received at film festivals around the world. In addition, he has been self employed as an animation designer in advertising as well as spent the last ten years teaching multimedia art and design at Brightpoint Community College. In 2015 he released an illustrated version of Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven” and in 2017 self-published his own graphic novel.
January 2023 marks his second exhibition at the Virginia Eye Institute.
The Zoster Eye Disease Study (ZEDS), supported by the National Eye Institute of the National Institutes of Health, aims to determine the best treatment to reduce the complications of herpes zoster ophthalmicus, also referred to as shingles of the eye. Our goals are to have a diverse group of study participants and to make the study as accessible as possible across the United States and Canada. Your participation in this research study will enable us to find the best treatment for zoster/shingles of the eye. Interested in being in our study?
LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR ZEDS STUDY
Insurance
Virginia Eye Institute optical shops may have different participating insurance providers than the eye doctors at Virginia Eye Institute. Before purchasing glasses or contact lenses, please check with your insurance provider to ensure you’re eligible for benefits. When applicable, we’re happy to work with you on a case-by case-basis to provide you with all documentation needed for maximum insurance reimbursement.
Patients
Consistent with state and federal privacy laws, and as a condition of treatment, audio or video recordings are not permitted inside Virginia Eye Institute facilities. Should anyone be observed recording or taking photographs with a cellphone or other device, the individual will be asked to immediately erase the audio, video or photographs to protect the privacy of other patients and VEI associates.
Photographs or recordings of a doctor may be taken only with the doctor’s permission and only if no other patients are captured in the images or recordings.