Friday, June 12, 2009
Extending eye care to Botetourt and beyond
Eugene Eng
Priscilla Richardson is columnist The Botetourt View. You can contact her at 981-3430 or via e-mail.
Priscilla Richardson
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Long gone are the days when a Botetourt person would have to go elsewhere for eye care. According to Kevin Coolbaugh, O.D., of Eye Care & Surgery Botetourt, the practice started in Roanoke about 22 years ago, but opened a major office here about ten years ago. And now that office is moving to British Woods (only about a mile away) so the doctors will have room for all of the advanced diagnostic equipment they need plus more parking spaces.
"We are the first ophthalmology practice in Botetourt; we're proud of that," Coolbaugh said. "And we're pleased to offer our patients a nicer facility."
So in talking to Coolbaugh, I asked what the O.D. after his name stands for. It's doctor of optometry. After a premed college degree, four years of optometry school and for him, an extra year of residency specializing in diseases of the eye, "I do the same exam as my M.D. partners." The difference: ophthalmologists do surgery.
He also explained that an optician cannot examine eyes for glasses or for diseases. Rather, the optician makes the glasses the doctors prescribe. Alice Jenkins, an optician, runs an optical office that is separate from the practice but physically on the same premises. The practice itself incorporates four doctors: Coolbaugh, his wife who also is an O.D., and two medical doctors.
Coolbaugh offered this bit of advice to any reader: "A big part of eye care is routine maintenance. Do not wait until you have a problem," he emphasized. "If you wait, whatever small problem was there will be a large problem that could have been prevented with medicine or surgery. Also, for those 65 and older, we recommend a yearly examination. It's important even though often you do not need to change glasses."
Coolbaugh works alongside Eugene Eng, M.D., in the Botetourt office. Eng, 32, whose parents are both Chinese from Singapore, was born in Memphis, Tenn. His parents struggled to make it in America. "My parents when they came here they both had college degrees. My dad had a master's degree in engineering but the school here did not recognize foreign degrees. So my dad had to go to school for [another] master's degree in engineering. And my mom had to go to school again.
"But they did it for us. I have a brother, an art teacher in Knoxville, Tennessee. My dad is an engineer and my mom is a hair stylist."
Eng was graduated summa cum laude from Northwestern University, where he met his wife, and was in the top five in his medical school. He did three years of residency in Oklahoma "because the faculty practiced their faith in their work. This is not something doctors do. They're trained to think scientifically and ignore spiritual and emotional aspects of the lives of patients. I can't understand how you could take that out of your work. As a follower of Christ, you don't just do that at home, you do it all the time."
Eng doesn't limit himself to his practice's participation in Project Access, which provides free care locally to the uninsured. He also goes on missions. "I did a two week trip to China two years ago, shortly before I came here. Mission organizations cannot go into China, but we went in as volunteers. We did cataract surgery and also mentored local eye doctors on Western eye techniques. We did lectures at a major university and went to villages."
Eng and his partners share the Botetourt neighborly helping hand philosophy. And they like Botetourt so much they've invested in a new building here. Welcome to Botetourt again, Eye Care & Surgery.
