Santa Cruz, Ca – Locally owned small business, Midtown Optometry celebrates its one-year anniversary under new ownership.  Formerly John Van Every, OD Inc, Midtown Optometry continues its 40 plus year legacy serving the community at 550 Water St in the historic Frank Lloyd Wright Medical Complex.  “It has been an fast-paced year for all of us here,” explains new owner, Craig Fellers, OD. “We’ve made a lot of improvements to the office, but have remained focused on our fanatical obsession for great service that our community embraced with the previous owner, Dr. Van Every.”  Existing patients have no doubt noticed the subtle updates during their eye examinations.  From the new LED lighting to the upgrade to electronic medical records, Midtown Optometry has put a strong emphasis on making the office more sustainable and green.  “We have implemented a new recycling system, and have noticed a dramatic decrease in paper consumption after our transition to digital medical records,” notes long time staff member, JoeAnne Haggins. 

Records are not the only thing going digital, however, as Midtown is now transitioning to digitally designed glasses lenses.  “The new digital technology is making a huge impact on the adaptability and wearability of modern progressive lenses,” reports Keely Sanders, Optician.  “Gone are days of thick lenses and distorted optics.”  Technology is becoming an integral part of the eyecare industry, and Midtown Optometry is welcoming the improvements it has to offer.  While there will always be the need for a thorough annual eye exam, a lot of great information is now available online.  This is a good thing, both for the patients and for local optometrists.  Midtown has been using this technology to their benefit showing patients videos on an iPad to help teach contact lens insertion and removal techniques.  Patients are also directed to their online glasses design tool to help evaluate lens and frame options before their exam.  “At Midtown, we feel that patients should have access to as much information as possible.  We provide high quality tools to allow our patients to make informed decisions on what will be best for their vision and eye health,” confirms Craig Fellers, OD.   While there have been a few notable changes since John Van Every, after an annual vision and eye health exam it is clear that the essence of the practice has remained.  The office improvements have allowed the staff to spend more time with each patient, and will ensure Midtown Optometry will be able to continue to provide the community with spectacular service for years to come.