I am happy to note that my friend and colleague, William Stephen O.D. of St. Lucy’s Vision Center was featured extensively discussing orthokeratology, also known as ortho-K, CRT, or Precise Corneal Reshaping (PCR). The video aired on Fox 13’s Dr. Jo health segment.

Here is the description of the video from the Fox 13 website. “Patients head to the eye doctor every year, often times for a stronger prescription. But, some people are getting “perfect vision” without contacts or glasses. FOX 13’s Dr. Joette Giovinco shows why “Eye Braces” are being called the vision of the future.”

You can watch the entire video here:

There are several optometrists that provide Ortho-K in the Tampa area.  We the only office in Westchase to provide the service.  If you have any questions about this exciting treatment option or want to schedule a screening, please do not hesitate to call the office at 813-792-0637 or email at office@brighteyestampa.com.

Be Well!

Dr. Bonilla-Warford
Bright Eyes Family Vision Care
Westchase, Tampa, FL
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For those that follow vision therapy, you likely have read about this Joint Plicy Statement by the American Academy of Pediatrics, Section on Ophthalmology; American Academy of Ophthalmology; American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus;  and American Association of Certified Orthoptists.

Well, this has created a stir, not so much for the policy that essentially has not changed in decades, but rather the tactics that were used to arrive that the policy statement. This is from the American Optometric Associatio Newsblog:

The policy statement …  sheds doubt on the claim that vision therapy treats dyslexia – a claim that vision researchers and clinicians have not made for decades.

It also ignores the evidence of the proven benefits of vision therapy, such as in well-designed studies, most notably the Convergence Insufficiency Treatment Trial (CITT), which was funded by the National Eye Institute. This study showed that vision therapy administered in an eye care provider’s office is the best course of treatment for that condition.

Unfortunately, this is not new.  As Leonard Press, O.D., writes in A flawed statement on vision therapy, learning and dyslexia is reissued:

The American Optometric Association in a joint policy statement with the American Academy of Optometry has previously pointed out the flaws with the joint policy statement of the organizations above (1997, at www.aoa.org/x5420.xml ).  A point-by-point rebuttal of the misleading information intended to discredit optometric vision therapy was published by the American Optometric Association in its journal, Optometry.  (Bowan MD, 2002).  This latest iteration in the form of the Pediatrics article unfortunately recycles the same straw man arguments as the prior joint statements.

The issues of reading and learning are highly complex and multifactorial. I do honestly believe that all profressionals involved feel they are acting in the best interest of children. Unfortunately, some organzzations are slow to change, even in the face of highly credible evidence.

Be Well!

Dr. Bonilla-Warford
Bright Eyes Family Vision Care
Westchase, Tampa, FL
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This short video is a great summary of the exciting National Institute of health research about convergence insufficiency.

If you suspect that a child in your life has convergence insufficiency, have them evaluated by an eye doctor that specializes in children. If you live in Tampa, we’d be happy to see you. If you don’t, you can find doctors who provide this care at COVD.

Be Well!

Dr. Bonilla-Warford
Bright Eyes Family Vision Care
Westchase, Tampa, FL
Connect with Us:  YelpFacebookTwitter

Here at Bright Eyes Family Vision Care, we have some very interesting patients. I am always amazed at the things that patients have going on. Whether it is starting a business, a community project, or personal hobby, our patients always having something fascinating to talk about.

So Bright Eyes has decided to feature our most interesting patient on our blog with a new series called: Bright Eyes Patient Spotlight! And although I have had a few ideas about who to Spotlight, Michele Northrup made it very easy by coming in and tweeting her entire eye exam on Twitter!!

But before we get to the exam tweeting, let me tell you about Michele. She is an incredibly funny, energetic woman. She is always doing a million things and has a million more ideas. One idea that has kept her very busy is her company Intensity Academy, that produces Award-winning hotsauces.

But I’m not the only one who has noticed. For one, Michele is a finalist for Business Woman of the Year by the Tampa Bay Business Journal. This is a big honor and she is very excited about it. But she also is a sought-after social-media consultant, who teaches classes on how to market brands via websites likes Facebook.com and Twitter.com.

So now that you know a bit about Michele. You can see how she works in action, via her eye exam at Bright Eyes. Here is a sampling of Michele’s tweets, including pictures:

@Brighteyestampa on my way to my 1st eye appt with @NateBW & crew at Bright Eyes in Westchase. Twitter Tour of the appt to come. Stay tuned!

@BrighteyesTampa crew welcoming me for my 1st eye appt.

Seeing 3-D testing depth perception. I passed w/ flying colors! @BrightEyesTampa

@BrighteyesTampa checkin’ to SEE if my eyes are healthy & bright! Doc Nate & crew are GREAT! Dialation next!!

@BrighteyesTampa ’s fashion eye consultant! Helping me pick THE perfect pair of glasses!!!

Here are the lenses I like…a neutral metal frame. Whatcha’ think???

RT @BrightEyesTampa: If anyone wants to make an apt call 813-792-0637 or http://brighteyestampa.com. Say you saw us on twitter for discounts

RT @BrightEyesTampa: When you buy a compete pair of glasses at @BrightEyesTampa, mention Twitter or @MicheleNorthrup and get a FREE bottle of hotsauce!

@BrightEyesTampa bringing the whole fam. in to SEE the fab folks in westchase!I LOVED my appt so much yesterday I decided to rally troops!

So in honor of Michele being the first Bright Eyes Patient Spotlight and for being such a good sport, I am offering a FREE bottle of Intensity Academy hotsauce to anyone who purchases a complete pair of glasses and  mentions that saw the ad on Twitter.

Cheers!

Dr. Bonilla-Warford
Bright Eyes Family Vision Care
Westchase, Tampa, FL
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Thank you to all of the patients and friends who came out to the Westchase Tweetup!

We had a great time! People from all over Tampa attended. There was lots of mingling and munching and nibbling.

A few of the highlights were awesome chair massages by @ChairMassageFl. Very tasty appetizers by @ChefKathy and wine and food by @BellisimoRisto.

If you’d like to see some some comments and photos from the event, click here.

In the meantime, get ready for the August Westchase Tweetup, that we are currently planning!

Cheers!

Dr. Bonilla-Warford
Bright Eyes Family Vision Care
Westchase, Tampa, FL
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Dear faithful BrightEyesNews readers,

You may notice the blog looking a little different and behaving a little oddly for a few days. Michael Quale, a local Tampa SEO Expert, is doing some work for us to help improve the functionality of the blog.

Please “pardon our dust” while we get everything in order!

Thanks!

Dr. Bonilla-Warford
Bright Eyes Family Vision Care
Westchase, Tampa, FL
Connect with Us:  YelpFacebookTwitter

I love to support both Tampa businesses and social media. And I love food. So when I found out about TasteCasting, I jumped at the chance to be a part of it. Then it got even better when TasteCasting joined the “Save the Toritillas” campaign.

I am planning on attending the July 22, event and I wanted to pass along the the press release that was released today. Please check it out and consider coming.

Be We!!

Dr. Bonilla-Warford
Bright Eyes Family Vision Care
Westchase, Tampa, FL
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Local Chefs & Foodies Host A Tampa Tortilla Extravaganza

July 22, 2009

TAMPA, Fla. – July 16, 2009 – Next Wednesday, July 22, chefs and foodies from throughout the Tampa Bay area will come together for a special Tastecasting™ event in support of the “Save The Tortillas” movement.  From 7 to 9 p.m. they will gather at La Bonita Ole, 5804 East Columbus Drive in Tampa.  The public is invited to join them from 7 to 8 p.m. by responding to melanieb@tamxicos.com.

At Wednesday night’s event, guests are invited to tour the production facility where they will experience how the tortillas are made, and have an opportunity to taste them freshly baked. They will also have a chance to meet the woman behind the tortillas, “Taco Tammy”, hear her story, and see why so many have gotten behind the charge to Save The Tortillas.

From 8-9 p.m. (for registered TasteCasters only, though media are welcome) TasteCasting^TM team members will enjoy Mexican Lasagna and Crawfish Enchiladas that the chefs will be creating using Tam-x-ico’s and Wrap-itz tortilla products. The chefs will also be sharing their favorite tortilla recipes, which will be published on the Save The Tortillas blog http://savethetortillas.com. The recipes will also be shared on other social media sites to inspire people to creatively cook with tortillas.

La Bonita Ole is located off of I4 Exit 3, at 5804 E. Columbus Dr., (East of 50^th Street) Tampa, FL 33619-1643; Phone 813-254-1450.

For more information on Save The Tortillas visit www.SaveTheTortillas.com ;

www.twitter.com/savethetortilla; or http://www.facebook.com/SaveTheTortillas

For more information on the employees http://www.flickr.com/photos/savethetortillas

For more information on TasteCasting visit http://www.tastecasting.com

Congratulations to Justin, the Bright Eyes Production Manager. He recently completed his first ever triathlon.

Justin should be very proud that he finished the swim, bike, run. He has inspired me to do a triathlon. But first I have to learn how to swim…

Dr. Bonilla-Warford
Bright Eyes Family Vision Care
Westchase, Tampa, FL
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OK, we preparing now for the fantastic Westchase Tweetup!!

On tap we will have:

• Wine Tasting by Ruffino wine
• Tasty appetizers by Savory Times / @ChefKathy
• FREE chair massage by Renee
• Specials on Italian  food and wine by @BellisimoRisto
• Outdoor music
• Twitter on the big screen
• Mixing by talented local Tweeters

Now, a new question: What type of music would you like played at the tweetup? Rock Jazz? Showtunes?  Please take our poll:

We are excited. The event will be fun! If you haven’t already, RSVP here.

Dr. Bonilla-Warford
Bright Eyes Family Vision Care
Westchase, Tampa, FL
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As far as I am concerned, the coolest thing a kid can be spotted with is a book. It doesn’t really matter if it is Harry Potter or my daughter’s current favorite, “Llama Llama Red Pajama.”

Now that we have the new kid’s area, we need to fill our kid’s library! What books are popular for kids 12 and under right now? If  two of your children saw a stack of books, which one would they fight over?

Please submit a comment, tweet @brightetestampa, or  email doc@brighteyestampa.com with any suggestions, so we can have the best stocked kids library in Westchase!

Thanks in advance!

Be Well.

Dr. Bonilla-Warford
Bright Eyes Family Vision Care
Westchase, Tampa, FL
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