Photo By Douglas Stutz | Seeing is believing at Naval Hospital Bremerton's Branch Health Clinic Optometry...... read more read more
BREMERTON, Wash. - The Optometry Clinic at Naval Hospital Bremerton’s Branch Health Clinic Bangor can make seeing believing.
The clinic might be unseen by many, but to those in need, the support received is nothing short of visionary.
The staff handles routine eye exams, Periodic Health Assessment (PHA) and physical eye exams, diabetic eye exams, ordering glasses and gas mask inserts, contact lens prescription renewals and even glaucoma/cataract screening exams. Routine and follow up visits are by appointment only and eye screening for physical exams and spectacle ordering are provided on a walk-in basis.
According to Lt. Cmdr. Jon Selbyg, the most important part of his job as a Navy optometrist is to not only ensure that service member's visual needs are handled to execute their mission, but also they have peace of mind knowing their family members are similarly being taken care of while deployed.
“We are making sure staff members are given the opportunity to further their careers. The eyes can be an important clue to underlying systemic health problems. I think folks take their eye health just as seriously as their systemic health. Probably even more. People in general seem to be more concerned about their eyes in particular than other aspects of their health unless, of course, something in particular is ailing them,” said Selbyg, who has served for 17 years in the Navy after growing up in Grand Forks, N.D.
The Optometry Clinic is primarily open for active duty and Occupation Health patients, but has recently begun caring for eligible beneficiaries.
“We’re really in the experimental stage if we can handle providing for members of our civilian population. If there is an available appointment, we can fill it with them,” said Optometry Clinic lead technician Robert Jai, known as BJ to everyone.
Jai attests that just because Optometry might be out of sight to most, it should not be out of mind. He stressed annual eyes exams as a must.
“We made a big push about six years ago to include optometry in the PHA process, either as a needed referral or to make sure a servicemember has the correct prescription glasses – two pair – and if needed, ballistic eyewear and gas mask inserts. We screen if a person is not 20/20 vision,” explained Jai. “Glasses are also like shoes. You don’t wear one style for everything. Progressives might be best for some and for some things, while bifocals might fit for other times. There are options that we can tailor – lens, frame, style - to the preference of the person in need.”
The team of Selbyg and BJ has been augmented by Keewan Otte, an optometrist student wrapping up his rotational duty from Pacific University, Oregon.
“I knew coming in that this would primarily be a healthy population,” Otte said. “But I have been able to get in a variety of mixes. I’ve also done a rotation with NHB’s Ophthalmology/Eye Surgery clinic to see how a patient with eye disease is handled. I have also had a lot of practice with removing a number of foreign objects from patient’s eyes. The skills needed here to care for active duty are speed and efficiency."
It’s due to having an advanced optometry student rotating through the clinic like Otte that allows them to also provide care for eligible beneficiaries. The next student might not be as capable. Yet.
“We’re aware that if and when we get another student to rotate in, they might not be as advanced as Keewan at this stage. That will limit the services we can provide outside the normal patient scope. So, it’s contingent on doctor availability. But we will certainly do what we can,” Jai said.
Selbyg notes that work is been steady at their clinic.
“We recommend if someone already has glasses to get checked every two years and annually if they have contact lens. What we don’t want to happen is have someone wait five to 10 years. The American Optometrist Association states that a person should get their eyes examined every year up until age 18. Eyes change as we grow and gradually age. After that, every two years up to the age of 50,” said Selbyg, adding that there are several factors that can directly impact a person’s eye sight, such as high blood pressure, glaucoma, cataracts and diabetes.
With diabetes for example, high blood sugar in diabetes causes eye lens to swell, which can alter a person’s sight. Blurred vision is another possible symptom caused by diabetes.
Although exam tests, eye exams and glasses are the clinic’s forte, they accommodate needs for contact lens for aviators, divers attached to a dive locker, and those who are periscope qualified (enlisted and officer) currently assigned to a submarine.
If there is any emergency like a foreign body in the eye – metal fragment, sand, grit - the clinic will get the injured person in immediately. The same holds true with conjunctivitis, also called pinkeye, can be caused by a number of factors such as viral bacteria, irritants like dirt, sand and smoke, allergies from dust and pollen, and even a reaction by some contact lens.
Jai stresses that eye safety is always a paramount concern to share with every patient.
“We remind them to wear safety glasses whenever they are working in a hazard area, and that home is where most accidents happen, so they should also use their safety eyewear there,” Jai said.
The ten rules of eye safety and protective eye wear are to always observe eye safety signs and procedures; always wear appropriate eye protection that is in clean and serviceable condition for mechanical, chemical, biological or radiant energy hazards; avoid contact lenses where smoke, dust, and chemical fumes exist, and while training and deployed; for eye hazardous sports - like baseball, lacrosse, soccer - wear approved eyewear that contains lenses; know where the eyewash fountain is and know how to use and maintain it; know basic first aid for eye injury to help self as well as others; have annual eye exams for proper job safety and efficiency; report eye injury hazards and unsafe practices; encourage and ensure proper eye safety training is received and proper eye safety is constantly practiced; and use common sense in all activities that are potentially hazardous to the eye.
Jai attests that the most gratifying aspect of his job is seeing the first time someone can see clearly for the first time.
“The look on their face is priceless. Especially the children. It's fantastic! So is knowing that every day I help someone with their sight and making them happy,” Jai said.
The clinic handles approximately 15-17 appointments daily and five physicals. Glasses can be ordered and delivered in a two-three week window, and that time can be flexed to get someone a product as soon as possible if needed.
“We try to keep everyone happy when they come in the door and happier when they leave,” said Jai, who in one form or another, as a radiation health technician in the 70s before switching to optometry, has been helping serve patients at NHB since the hospital relocated to the current location in 1980.
| Date Taken: | 05.04.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 05.05.2015 17:22 |
| Story ID: | 162323 |
| Location: | BREMERTON , WASHINGTON, US |
| Web Views: | 380 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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