Business Matters: Maple Grove’s New Eye Clinic
Four Seasons Eye Care in Maple Grove opened Wednesday, Jan. 23. Located next to Maple Grove Hospital, the new clinic offers comprehensive eye care. The connection to the hospital is important should greater health needs for the patient arise.
Maple Grove is the 10th Four Seasons Eye Care location in the Twin Cities metro. An 11th location will soon open in Robbinsdale. There’s a reason for the growing number of clinics. Dr. Don Sealock with Four Seasons says it’s partially attributed to the aging baby boomer generation. It also has to do with our overall health.
“When you look at diabetes, when you look at macular degeneration, you look at glaucoma, you look at cataracts, all of those numbers by 2020 increase by 25 to 30 percent,” said Dr. Sealock.
Those ailments are the leading causes of vision loss. Catching them early are key.
“Glaucoma is really a disease you start to screen over the age of 35,” said Dr. Sealock. When you look at diabetes over the age of 50, it’s the leading cause of blindness. So the earlier you pick those people up, the better you are preventatively not allowing them to lose their eyesight.”
New Eye Technology Can’t Solve Everything
Thankfully new technology has helped with detection. One example is an optical coherence tomography machine, which is like a fancy MRI scan for the eyes.
“The advancement over the last five years and even in the next generation like this is much more sophisticated and advanced,” said Dr. Sealock. “Very similar to the difference where we went from a Polaroid camera to a high definition camera today.”
But Dr. Sealock says all the technology in the world can’t solve everything.
“Where it’s really hard is your diabetics who don’t want to behaviorally change what they eat,” he said. If you didn’t eat a Western diet, if you typically did the diet of green vegetables and the daily fruits, you’re going to prevent a lot of eye disease that is currently happening today.”
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