Clarity Vision Centre in Winkler celebrated the grand opening of its spacious new location last week.
The optometrist office cut the ribbon on its building at 880 15th St. Jan. 30, officially marking a new era for the business.
“When we first moved [to Winkler] in 2013, our plan was to stay in the old location … we figured it would last us two to three years,” shared Dr. Andrew Aiken.
As the practice grew, so too did the need for a larger space, but it took some time to find the right piece of land and get construction underway. Last November, they were finally able to move into the new building, which is almost four times the size of their old space on Main St.
With all the extra room, they’ve been able to up their examination rooms from two to seven and have on display hundreds more eyeglass frames than ever before.
“Around 1,600 to 1,800 pieces,” shares Aiken. “It’s a pretty substantial inventory and quite a substantial increase from the old spot.”
The building also features towering windows for lots of natural light, high ceilings, a second-floor mezzanine with room for offices and a staff room, a wheelchair-friendly entrance and a dedicated accessible examination room.
Aiken hopes the impressive facility will help them recruit additional optometrists to the practice. He’s currently the only full-time eye doctor on staff, though they also have an ophthalmologist coming out from Winnipeg every month to administer injections for various eye diseases. The goal is to have them administering upwards of 140 such injections a month.
“These people are macular degeneration patients, diabetes patients,” Aiken says, explaining these treatments are usually done on a monthly basis. Offering this service locally saves area patients hundreds of trips into Winnipeg every year. “We figured out, ballpark, about $450,000 in lost wages, gas money, food expenses, all that kind of stuff. So it’s a pretty substantial savings.”
Clarity Vision Centre also has a state-of-the-art computer program that allows them to send patient ocular scans to out-of-town specialists for their opinion, furthering saving people from having to leave the area for a diagnosis.
Aiken invites everyone to come check the new space out and see what they all have to offer.
“Hopefully they see us as a really forward-thinking clinic that is willing to adapt all the new technology to expand scope and services, reduce the barrier to care, and someone that really has the community in mind right from the start,” he says. “The community has been very good to me, and I always want to pay that back in any way I can.”
