June 1, 2021

Masks Optional!

If you would prefer for the staff member working with you to wear a mask when in exam rooms, testing rooms, or while taking optical measurements, please let us know!

April 29, 2020

Reopening Plan

The American Optometric Association (AOA) has confirmed with Centers for Disease Control (CDC) officials that the agency’s March 17 nationwide recommendations to postpone routine eye care is no longer in effect.

Spring Hill Eyecare is ready to resume delivery of complete, comprehensive eye health and vision care in accordance with Tennessee Governor Bill Lee and the Economic Recovery Group’s “Tennessee Pledge” for reopening of businesses. 

Our goal is to responsibly and ethically service patients in the safest, most sanitary environment possible.  Starting April 30^th, we will open the retail portion (the frame gallery) of our practice for purchasing eye wear and frame adjustments/repairs from 10am-4pm by appointment only.  We are resuming normal business hours on May 1^st and we will begin seeing a reduced number of patients to allow for social distancing and more time to sanitize between patients.  This is a fluid plan that can change rapidly based on the health of the community as well as any city or state guidelines.

Our top priority is the health and well-being of our patients, staff, and doctors. We realize not all patients will be comfortable coming back into the office setting right away and we will still offer telehealth appointments, especially for at-risk patients.

When Scheduling an Appointment

• We are going to attempt to gather as much information as possible by phone prior to the appointment to limit the amount of time you are in the office.   
• We will be asking the following questions and gathering the following information:
  • COVID-19 related questions:
    • Have you run a fever greater than 100.3 in the last 14 days?
    • Had a cough or difficulty breathing in the last 14 days?
    • Have you been exposed to anyone with Covid-19?
    • Have you traveled out of state within the last 2 weeks and, if so, where? You may asked to be rescheduled if you have recently returned from an area considered a 'hot spot' by the CDC.  (NOTE: this question was added 5/12/20) 
  • Demographic information:
    • Name, address, DOB, phone number, email address
    • Vision plan – including insured name, DOB and SSN
    • Medical plan – including insured name, DOB and SSN
    • Please email a picture of all of your medical insurance and vision plan cards to frontdesk@springhilleyecare.com OR text a picture of the cards to: 931-489-1950.

• You may also receive a call from one of our technicians at some point prior to your exam to review your reason for visit, ocular and medical history, medications, etc.  Normally, he or she would start your exam with this, but we may call ahead to reduce your face-to-face time in the office.

Limited Entry to the Office

• Entry to the office will be by appointment only.  This includes not only exams, but also pickups and frame adjustments. 
• Curbside pickups are still preferred to maintain social distance and do not require an appointment -just call to tell us you are on your way and when you arrive.  If you would like to come inside for a pickup and/or a frame adjustment, we ask that you call to schedule.
• Doors will remain locked to help reduce the number of patients entering the office. No personal guests will be allowed entry in the office (with the exception of one parent/guardian for minors or special needs patients).
• While we do not anticipate our normal volume of patients in the building as we are starting with a limited number of appointments, please attempt to maintain social distance from other patients.

When You Arrive

• When you arrive at the office, please stay in your car and call to let us know you are here.  When your exam room is ready, we will call you back and greet you at the door.  
• We are asking anyone entering the building to bring a face mask and to wear it at all times.  For your protection, our staff will be wearing face masks as well. 
• We will check to ensure your temperature is not over 100.3 with a non-contact thermometer.  If your temperature is over 100.3 you will need to reschedule.
• When entering the building, you will be escorted to the sink to wash your hands with soap and water for 20 seconds prior to starting.

Exam Room and Testing Rooms

• We ALWAYS have rigorous sanitation and disinfection practices at our office as we routinely examine and treat patients with highly infectious eye diseases.  As usual, we will maintain universal precautions and sanitation procedures as rooms are cleaned between every patient. 
• We realize that certain portions of your testing and examination will require close proximity to our staff members and doctors, but we will do our best to protect you and ourselves at all times.

Frame Gallery

• Our opticians and frame stylists will assist you in frame selection.  All frames will be sanitized after being handled so we ask that you not place them back on the shelves.  Fortunately, our frame gallery is one of the largest in middle Tennessee which aids in social distancing. 

Our Doctors and Staff

• As part of the Tennessee Pledge that Gov. Lee established, guidelines are established for employers and employees. These are:
  • Employers

-Screen all employees reporting to work for COVID-19 symptoms

-Temperature screening of employees

-Direct any employee who exhibits COVID-19 symptoms to leave premises and seek medical care and/or testing per CDC guidelines.

-Implement workplace cleaning and disinfection

-Mitigate exposure in the workplace – this means social distancing and modifying work schedule

• Employees

-Stay home when feeling ill.

-Increase hygiene practices, wash hands frequently, avoid touching

face.

-Wear a cloth face covering while at work.

-Practice recommended social distancing as much as possible.

Please feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns.  We are so excited to be able to serve you again and we look forward to seeing you soon!

Sincerely,

Rob Szeliga, OD

PS:  Brighter days are ahead AND we’ve got a great selection of sunglasses to help you prepare!!

March 19, 2020

As of Tuesday evening, March 17, the CDC and AOA recommended all routine eye care be deferred until further notice. During this period of social distancing and quarantine, we must all do our part by restricting activities outside the home.

We plan to reduce our practice hours starting March 20^th to 10am-2pm.  Things are changing rapidly so we are planning to roll with the punches and continuously re-evaluate the situation.  Please be assured that during those hours there will be someone available to answer your questions, place contact lens orders, schedule emergency patients, etc. We will remain available to triage eye emergencies as well as help you with routine matters during this challenging time.

• Routine Eye Exams:  As of March 18, 2020, we began rescheduling or postponing routine eye examination appointments. If you are scheduled for a routine eye examination appointment for the remainder of March and potentially early April, we will reschedule your appointment. Please ignore any automated recall reminders that you may receive via text or email.  Although we disabled these services, please forgive us if some still slip through the cracks. 
• I need to pick up glasses and/or contact lenses that I’ve already ordered, dry eye products, or nutritional supplements. What can I do?  Call the office at 931-489-1950 to schedule a curbside pickup between the hours of 10am-2pm.  All charges must be paid in full. We can accept payment by text or over the phone.
• I need to order glasses. What do I do?  Please contact us at 931-489-1950 or info@springhilleyecare.com. 
• I’m nearly out of contact lenses. What do I do?  If your prescription hasn’t expired, you may order on our website: http://www.springhilleyecare.com/order-contact-lenses/ or call 931-489-1950.  If your contact lens prescription is close to expiring or has expired, contact us at 931-489-1950 or info@springhilleyecare.com and we may be able to assist you in ordering a small supply of contact lenses to bridge the gap until we can see you for your comprehensive exam and contact lens evaluation and have them shipped to your house.   
• I need a refill on the medication prescribed to me by the practice. What do I do?  The easiest method would be to have your pharmacy fax us a refill request and we will return the fax between the hours of 10am-2pm.  You may also contact us at 931-489-1950 or info@springhilleyecare.com.   
• What about an eye emergency? What can I do? Dr. Rob Szeliga, Dr. Virgilio Gozum, and Dr. Kathryn Beckman will do their best to accommodate true eye emergencies (red eyes, sudden vision changes, injuries, and other urgent issues) in the office between the hours of 10am-2pm. Contact us at 931-489-1950.

We are reducing our in-office staff until further notice to protect them, our patients, our community, our nation, and our planet. Despite the financial and emotional hardships this will cause, we ask every one of you to do the same.  As always, we greatly appreciate the support from our community! Together we will weather this storm.

Thank you,

Dr. Rob Szeliga & the Spring Hill Eyecare Team

_____________________________________________________________

March 17, 2020

At Spring Hill Eyecare, our number one priority is the health and safety of all the members of our community and we wanted to provide you with information about the proactive actions we are taking.  We always have rigorous sanitation and disinfection practices at our office as we treat highly contagious eye infections on a regular basis. In an attempt to keep our patients, our community, and our employees healthy we are asking for your help as well. 

• We always ask that anyone who feels ill in any way, including having a fever of 100 degrees or higher within 24 hours, to please stay home until you recover.  The same applies if anyone in your household is ill.
• If you handle or try on a frame in our frame gallery, please place these frames in the provided tray rather than back on the shelves so that we may disinfect them properly before re-displaying. 

Listed below are some facts and tips regarding contact lens and spectacles/glasses wear amidst the Novel Coronavirus / COVID-19 pandemic:

• Contact Lens Wear is Safe. Despite myths and misinformation that have arisen over the past 48 hours, contact lens wear remains a safe and highly effective form of vision correction for millions of people worldwide.  
• Proper Hand Washing is Essential. When using contact lenses or spectacles, careful and thorough hand washing with soap and water followed by hand drying with unused paper towels is paramount. For contact lens wearers, this should occur before every insertion and removal. Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds especially after you have been in a public place, or after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing.  If soap and water are not readily available, use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol. Cover all surfaces of your hands and rub them together until they feel completely dry. Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.
• Disinfect Contact Lenses. Contact lens wearers should either dispose of their daily disposable lenses each evening, or regularly disinfect their monthly and two-week lenses according to manufacturer and eye care professional instructions.
• Disinfect Spectacles and Glasses. Some viruses such as COVID-19 can remain on hard surfaces for hours to days, which can be transferred to spectacles wearers' fingers and faces. This especially holds true for presbyopes (people generally over the age of 40). Most presbyopes require reading glasses and they may be putting them on and off their face multiple times a day. This age group appears to be among the more vulnerable population for developing COVID-19, as compared with contact lens wearers, who are typically younger.
• Discontinue Lens Wear Only if Sick. Ceasing contact lens wear when sick is advised, consistent with guidance for other types of illness. (Get a backup pair of glasses to be prepared for anything!)
• Spectacles are Not Proven to Offer Protection. There is no scientific evidence that wearing spectacles or glasses provide protection against COVID-19 or other viral transmissions.
• Use Approved Personal Protective Eyewear (medical masks, goggles or face shields) in certain settings involved in the care of patients (https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/331215/WHO-2019-nCov-IPCPPE_use-2020.1-eng.pdf)

• TLDR: (too long – didn’t read?) Wash your hands like you just ate Nashville Hot Chicken and you’re about to insert your contact lenses!

We thank you for your continued support!