West Branch Eyecare

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=90 BGCOLOR="#6666FF" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="03f00760egblyg.jpg"> <div> <B>West Branch Eyecare</B></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#FFFF33" FACE="Arial" >  </FONT><A HREF="id17.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Doctors"><U>Doctors</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id18.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Staff"><U>Staff</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id30.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Videos"><U>Videos</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id19.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Services/Products/Insurance"><U>Services/Products/Insurance</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id26.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="CL Types"><U>CL Types</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id27.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Employment"><U>Employment</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id24.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Contact Us"><U>Contact Us</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id31.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="But Now I See!"><U>But Now I See!</U></A></div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=193 BGCOLOR="#6633FF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>Welcome to West Branch Eyecare,   serving the eye care needs of Northern Michigan from downtown West Branch since 1932.</B></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="index_m.htm#what_s_new_" TARGET="TRLX_Middle" TITLE="West Branch Eyecare"><U><B>What's New?</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="index_m.htm#office_hours" TARGET="TRLX_Middle" TITLE="West Branch Eyecare"><U><B>Office Hours</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id17.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Doctors"><U><B>Our Doctors</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id18.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Staff"><U><B>Our Staff</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id19.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Services/Products/Insurance"><U><B>Our Services</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id24_contact_lens_reorders.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Contact Us"><U><B>CL Reorder</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id24.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Contact Us"><U><B>Contact Us</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="index_m.htm#links" TARGET="TRLX_Middle" TITLE="West Branch Eyecare"><U><B>Links</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id31.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="But Now I See!"><U><B>But Now I See!</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <B> </B></div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=390 BGCOLOR="#6633FF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <IMG SRC="05b2d730.jpg" border=0 width="557" height="371" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="7" VSPACE="0"></div> <div>          304 W. Houghton, PO Box 128, West Branch MI  48661, 989-345-<B>2020</B></div> <bR> <div>  <A NAME="office_hours"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Arial" ><U>Office Hours</U></FONT></div> <bR> <div>         Monday  < 10:00 - 5:30 ></div> <div>         Tuesday  < 8:00 - 12:00, 1:30 - 5:00 ></div> <div>         Wednesday, Thursday, Friday < 8:00 - 5:00 ></div> <div>         1st / 3rd Saturday < 9:00 - 12:00 ></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <U> <A NAME="what_s_new_"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></U><B><U>WHAT'S NEWS?</U></B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Educational VIDEOS: </B>To better educate our community, we are now providing on-line videos of common eye conditions.  Take a few minutes to view some of <A HREF="id30.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Videos"><U>our collection.</U></A></div> <bR> <div> <B>LANSING, Mich. </B>- (November 10, 2008) - To combat eye diseases related to diabetes and commemorate National Diabetes Awareness Month, optometrists from the Michigan Optometric Association (MOA) are calling for Michigan residents with diabetes to get a comprehensive eye exam every year to detect early signs of diabetic eye disease. </div> <div>     <B>Key facts about diabetes:</B></div> <div> <B>    * </B>More than 23.6 million children and adults in the United States have diabetes.</div> <div>     * There are 885,000 adults in Michigan who have been diagnosed with</div> <div>       diabetes. While an estimated 593,200 have been diagnosed, 292,000 people</div> <div>       (or nearly one-third) are unaware that they have the disease.</div> <div>     * Diabetes is the leading cause of new cases of blindness among adults ages 20 to 74.</div> <div>     * People with diabetes are 40 percent more likely to develop glaucoma.</div> <div>     * People with diabetes are 60 percent more likely to develop cataracts.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Common Misconceptions found in 2008 American Eye-Q® survey</B></div> <div> Most Americans are unaware that comprehensive eye exams can detect more than just problems with blurred vision. For instance, Sixty-two percent of respondents didn't recognize that diabetes can be detected by an optometrist, and diabetic eye disease remains the leading cause of blindness in the working aged population. Most people did not realize that eye exams can also detect signs of cardiovascular disease (not recognized by 80 percent), brain tumors (75 percent), cancer (78 percent), and multiple sclerosis (90 percent) and often the earliest symptoms of these diseases involve vision.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Reducing Contact Lens Tearing: </B>Would you like to decrease the unnecessary expense and frustration of cracked or torn contact lenses?  Use the "slosh and toss" technique when opening a new flat pack:  Shake the flat pack before opening, slosh the flat pack back and forth to insure that the lens is moving, and toss the lens and solution out into the palm of your hand.  This technique prevents both lens adherence tears and finger nail slices.   Lubricating your lenses with rewetting drops at least one minute before removal will make the lens more pliable and will decrease adhesion.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Sports-Related Eye Injuries: </B>According to a recent study by the U.S. Eye Injury Registry, more than 600,000 sports-related eye injuries occur every year and 40,000 require emergency room care, says a release from Prevent Blindness America (PBA). Of these, 90% can be prevented by wearing proper eye protection.  Among other findings:</div> <bR> <div> • Fishing injuries are the number one cause of eye injuries, accounting for 9% of all injuries and 38% of those injuries involve a hook to the eye.</div> <div> • Approximately 1 in 50 little-league baseball players will sustain an eye injury that requires attention.</div> <div> • The leading cause of eye injury in adult women involves racket sports.</div> <div> • The average football team will sustain four eye injuries every season.</div> <div> • More than half of all eye injuries from soccer occur in children age six to 14.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Teachers Believe Clear Vision as Important as Nutrition to Academic Success: </B>A new survey reveals 93% of teachers believe poor vision impacts a student’s academic performance and 74% of those surveyed have personally observed children falling behind in school due to vision problems. The survey involved 509 kindergarten through 12th grade teachers and was conducted by Russel Research on behalf of Give the Gift of Sight foundation. The teachers surveyed estimated that two in five of their students suffer from vision problems, more than one-third of which they say have not been treated. Other findings include:</div> <bR> <div> • 82% of teachers believe poor vision hinders academic motivation</div> <div> • 70% believe poor vision negatively affects self-confidence</div> <div> • 64% believe it affects a child’s ability to enjoy sports and games</div> <div> • 40% believe poor vision affects a student’s ability to develop social skills.</div> <bR> <div> The teachers surveyed also believe eye care should be provided for underprivileged children, with 88% saying that exams should be offered free of charge for students who can’t afford them, 87% believe these children should receive free vision screenings and 80% think they should receive free prescription eyeglasses. For more information, visit http://www.givethegiftofsight.org. </div> <bR> <div> <B><U> <A NAME="links"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></U></B><B><U>LINKS</U></B> you might find interesting:</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.aoa.org/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.aoa.org/"><U>American Optometric Association</U></A>                 </div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.themoa.org/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.themoa.org/"><U>Michigan Optometric Association</U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.nei.nih.gov/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.nei.nih.gov/"><U>National Eye Institute</U></A> </div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.allaboutvision.com/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.allaboutvision.com/"><U>All About Vision</U></A>    </div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.fcoint.org/index.html" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.fcoint.org/index.html"><U>Fellowship of Christian Optometrists</U></A>               </div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.ferris.edu/mco/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.ferris.edu/mco/"><U>Michigan College of Optometry</U></A>    </div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.rosenbaumeye.com/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.rosenbaumeye.com/"><U>Rosenbaum Laser Center</U></A>     </div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.anderseneye.com/index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.anderseneye.com/index.htm"><U>Andersen Eye Care</U></A>                      </div> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>