We’ve had a lot of changes to our practice this past year but the most significant one was the addition of Dr. Brett Burns to our staff. Dr. Momnie and Dr. Guzek-Latka spent over three years looking for the right optometrist to join Chicopee Eyecare and they and the entire staff couldn’t be more pleased with their new associate. More importantly, the feedback from our patients has been nothing short of five stars. Dr. Burns graduated with honors from the University of Connecticut and received his Doctor of Optometry from the New England College of Optometry where he was inducted into the Beta Sigma Kappa Honor Society. He’s a superb clinician and shares our philosophy of treating each and every patient like a family member. Dr. Burns also spends a day or two a week with Dr. Katarzyna Babinski at Ludlow Eye Associates and Dr. Babinski, who speaks fluent Polish, also sees patients in our office one or two days a month.
As we enter another Holiday season, all of the doctors, opticians and staff want to thank you for entrusting us with the care of your eyes. With warm appreciation, we extend our best wishes for a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and a healthy and happy New Year.
Brett P. Burns, O.D.
Camille Guzek-Latka, O.D.
David C. Momnie, O.D.
Julianne M. Rapalus, O.D.
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Welcome, Amanda Baltazar,
to Chicopee Eyecare
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Amanda Baltazar is our current New England College of Optometry (NECO) intern. Amanda is a Chicopee native, having attended Holy Name grammar school and Chicopee High School. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in Biomechanical Engineering in 2016 from Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in Worcester, MA. While at WPI, Amanda always had an interest in healthcare and optics and in 2015 she applied and was accepted into the NECO four-year program in Boston. Amanda will receive her Doctor of Optometry Degree in May, 2020. She is engaged with a wedding planned shortly after graduation and the then Dr. Amanda Baltazar and her new husband, a mechanical engineer, plan on living in the Sturbridge area. Welcome, Amanda!
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Fighting Myopia in Chinese Schools
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A recent article in NewsFlare.com reported on Chinese schools installing bars over pupil’s desks. With the incidence of myopia epidemic in China, the bars help prevent poor posture while in school. A primary school in China’s northern Baoji installed the bars to keep the children from leaning over too much while handwriting. The idea was apparently presented to the parents and they agreed and paid the teacher to purchase and install the bars.
Optometrists have known for a long time that excessive near work like reading and writing at a very close distance puts added stress on the eye’s accommodative system, which may lead to increased progression of nearsightedness. Resting your eyes periodically can reduce the stress and strain on the eyes. So, to all of our patients, we recommend the “20-20-20 rule,” that is, to look up every 20 minutes at a distance of at least 20 feet for about 20 seconds.
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LASIK 30 Years Later. We've come a long way.
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It was 30 years ago that the U.S. government through the Patent and Trademark Office granted a patent to an eye surgeon which came to be known as LASIK, an acronym for laser in-situ keratomileusis. Previous to LASIK was a corneal surgery known as radial keratotomy or RK, a procedure developed by a Russian ophthalmologist in 1974 and fraught with complications with some patients suffering permanent vision loss. The excimer laser was invented later in the 1970s and was first used on the eye for vision correction in 1987. The entire epithelium, the outer layer of the cornea, was removed for the procedure, called Photorefractive Keratectomy or PRK. And in 1991, LASIK was first performed. Unlike PRK, a corneal flap was lifted from the eye, the cornea was reshaped with the excimer laser, and the flap layer placed back over the cornea. Both PRK and LASIK were approved by the FDA by 1996. The femtosecond laser was FDA approved in 2001, allowing for bladeless LASIK and customized wavefront technology followed in 2003.
Since LASIK was patented in 1989, vision corrective surgery has come a long way and the majority of patients experience better than 20/20 outcomes. More than 40 million LASIK procedures have been performed worldwide. A recent 2-year review of over 31,000 patients found a rate of serious complications of only 0.4% (four in every 1000 cases). Advances in surgical customization will continue to develop. If you’re interested in refractive surgery, don’t hesitate to ask to discuss it with your doctor on your next visit to our office or speak to one of the optometrists on the phone.
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A new app on an iPhone can detect a rare eye disease in children. Called CRADLE White Eye Detector, the free app can recognize a condition called leukocoria, a white pupil due to an abnormal reflection of light. It was developed by Bryan Shaw, a chemist at Baylor University after his son Noah was diagnosed with retinoblastoma, a rare cancerous tumor in the eye. Shaw’s commitment to preventing Noah’s tragedy, the loss of his eye, in other children led him to develop the tools for other parents. It is estimated that 80% of the time a parent, relative or friend is the first to identify the abnormal “glow” in a picture. The white pupil can indicate more than 20 eye diseases found in children.
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New Contact Lens for Children
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The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates the prescribing of contact lenses in the United States. If not fit or disinfected properly, contact lenses can result in permanent loss of vision. Unlike some countries where contact lenses can be sold over the counter in convenience stores and gas stations, in the US they require a prescription.
The FDA recently approved the first contact lenses to slow myopia (nearsightedness) progression in children aged 8-12 years. Cooper Vision Inc introduced MiSight, single use lenses which are worn daily and then discarded. Myopia is becoming increasingly common globally, especially in Asian countries, (see article on Chinese children above) and severe myopia makes one susceptible to early cataracts and detached retina in adulthood. The lenses are essentially bifocals with both distance and reading focal parts. Children who wore MiSight were found to have less axial lengthening of the eyeball which is a typical sign of worsening nearsightedness. Fitting sets have not yet been released but we will update you when they are available to our office.
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Thinking of a Career in Optometry? Network!
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Dr. Momnie was recently contacted by a fourth-year student at Western New England College who was interested in a career in optometry. Bao Kim will be receiving his B.S. degree in Health Sciences next spring and is in the process of applying to several schools of optometry across the country. Dr. Momnie had Bao shadow him and Dr. Guzek-Latka and Dr. Burns at Chicopee Eyecare on two afternoons and he is now even more excited about a career helping people with eye and vision problems. Dr. Momnie next invited Bao and Dr. Tony Tran, a recently graduated Springfield optometrist, to lunch where they could meet each other and further discuss the profession of optometry. Both Bao and Dr. Tran have roots in Vietnam and both speak fluent Vietnamese.
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Thank You for Google Reviews
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Thank you if you’ve given us a nice Google Review.
If you were happy with your experience at Chicopee Eyecare, your positive review helps us spread the word and market our practice to potentially new patients.
Click Here
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Catch up on our newsletters
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I
N CASE OF EMERGENCY
Chicopee Eyecare provides "24/7" coverage for emergency eye care for our patients.
We recommend that you do not go to the emergency room for an eye injury or acute eye problem unless it is very serious. Drs. Momnie, Guzek-Latka, Rapalus and Burns keep slots open for urgent care visits for new and established patients during normal office hours, and provide around-the clock emergency coverage for our established patients for after-hours and weekends.
Call 592-7777 before calling your PCP or visiting a hospital ER!
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Office Hours
We are available when you need us
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Our office and optical department are open during the following hours:
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Monday 9:00 am - 5:30 pm
Tuesday 9:00 am - 5:30 pm
Wednesday 9:00 am - 5:30 pm
Thursday 9:00 am - 6:30 pm
Friday 9:00 am - 5:30 pm
Saturday 9:00 am -12:30 pm
One of our doctors is always available for emergencies on nights, weekends and holidays. Call (413) 592-7777 and our answering service will put you in touch with an on-call optometrist.
"The people in this office are committed to providing you with the highest quality of eye care and to treating you with kindness and respect.
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©2019 Chicopee Eyecare - All Rights Reserved
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