Eye Care Blog

Delta Dental of Missouri has acquired Advantica EyeCare, a Clearwater, Florida-based vision benefits provider with 2.4 million members nationwide and annual revenue in excess of $46 million.

Advantica EyeCare became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Delta Dental of Missouri’s Essex Holding Company on Feb. 4. With revenue of over $400 million in 2009, Delta Dental of Missouri is the sole investor and has acquired 100 percent of Advantica EyeCare’s assets.

With the acquisition completed, Delta Dental of Missouri is now preparing to offer group vision plan options this spring. Advantica EyeCare will soon begin offering dental health

benefit options to its clients.

The management teams and staffs of both companies will remain in place.

“We’re excited to add vision benefits to our portfolio of products and to have Advantica EyeCare join our Delta Dental of Missouri family of companies,” said David Haynes, president and CEO of Delta Dental of Missouri.

Richard L. Sanchez will continue as Advantica EyeCare president and CEO and will also join the Essex Holding Company’s senior management team.

Advantica EyeCare employs 90 people who work to provide vision benefits to its more than two million members through 780 employer groups, as well as managed care companies, Medicare HMOs and Medicaid plans. Its network encompasses 16,000 contracted eye care providers nationwide, including major retail optical locations and private practitioners.

Delta Dental of Missouri, a nonprofit organization, is the dental benefits leader in Missouri and a member of Delta Dental Plans Association, the largest dental benefits provider in the U.S. More than 90 percent of Missouri dentists participate in a Delta Dental network and four out of five dentists participate nationally.

If you go into Coastal Eyecare Centres, you may wonder why there are Mexican blankets and trinkets on display and photos of incredibly cute kids with big eyes looking through large glasses.

A team of volunteers from the clinics have recently returned from a project in Colima, Mexico where they provided eye examinations and dispensed donated glasses to 1,264 needy people.

In January, Optometrist Dr. Kim Tsang, joined by her partner David Hadaller, led the team of optometric assistant Jill Farrell, licensed optician Linda Schmidt, optometric assistant Veronica Roberts, on the eye care project. They joined volunteers from Alberta and across the United States as part of Project Amigo’s Vision Work Week.

Project Amigo is a year round development program aimed at improving literacy and health to the poorest people of the Colima area. Vision week consisted of six days of clinics, set up at five different cities and villages as they travel around the region to meet up with the most needy. They provided blood pressure and blood sugar screenings and eye exams, checking patient’s eye health and spectacle prescriptions.

“Everyone worked very hard at the different stations needed to complete the screenings and eye exams,” said Tsang. “I was one of three optometrists examining patients. Besides the doctors, the group from Coastal Eyecare were the only volunteers who had any experience in the eye care field. It was fortunate for the project, because the donated glasses were in disarray and we helped them sort it out so that patients got the glasses they needed. Everyone really appreciated Jill, Linda, and Veronica sharing their expertise.”

Asked to describe the highlight, Tsang reflects on the rewarding experience, “It was special to see all these grateful people. The patients were all dressed in their Sunday best and everyone was very happy to be having their vision problems dealt with. Many people, who hadn’t seen clearly in years, put on their new glasses and had an instant transformation as their world became clear again. Although we worked long days with over an hour of travel to and from the villages, we always had a reserve of energy thanks to all the gratitude and warm welcome we received from the locals.”

Tsang felt that she was able to offer her skills to people who were in desperate need, and they gave her something in return, “Our patients were always so grateful and kind. They were all so eager to share their stories and themselves, even though they didn’t have much.”

This was the group’s first trip to Mexico and the first time staff have joined a doctor on a volunteer project. “We believe it is important to support our staff in participating in projects like this. It builds great team work and gives such good perspective to how well we have it here at home,” says Tsang. Coastal Eyecare Centres has set up their ‘Eyes Around the World’ project to reach out to different areas of the world and are already anticipating joining Project Amigo again next year.

“The people we see in Mexico did not have access to eye care due to poverty and remote locations. There will certainly be a need for volunteers in 2011,” she said.

People can support their next trip by dropping off monetary donations or unwanted glasses, which are given to patients in Mexico.

Tsang cannot thank the community enough for their generous support already. “This first trip could not have happened without the donations we have received. We are so honoured to have the opportunity to represent ‘Eyes Around the World’, Campbell River and the Comox Valley.”

Over one million people suffer eye injuries each year in America, most of which could have been prevented. The consciousness of eye care should be held by everyone. It is an advisable choice to wear protective safety glasses for eye care when people do sports and recreational activities. Also, people should pay more attention to children’s eyecare, supervise kids when they are playing with toys or games to avoid hurting their eyes from some projectile toys such as pellet guns. If people have an eye injury, get medical attention from an eye care doctor as soon as possible.

People also should attach importance to the influences of environments on their eye health. Just like the skin, eyes are damaged by UV rays coming from the sun, whether it is sunny day or overcast. According to eye care professional, people should always wear sunglasses which can offer UV ray protection for eyecare in daylight hours. When it is smoky, people should follow eyecare practitioners’ advice that try not to rub eyes, for not transfer dust and ash from hands to eyes.

People who do any of these things which require staring at one place for a long time such as working on a computer really need eye care. It is important to take frequent brakes and look at things farther away for a moment. There are some special eyecare films offered for computer screens to minimize the harm from looking at monitor for long period of time. As is pointed put by some eye care experts, people should make sure the lighting is correct for the activity they are doing-a bit dimmer for computer work and bright for reading.

Frequent check-ups with eyecare professional will be good for eyes health. If people have some eyes problems, some eye care products may help people for eyecare such as eye drops, which can use to relieve dry eyes. Also, people can do a number of eye care exercises, which can make eyes to stay in good shape and help with any inherent problems.