Hartman and her daughter, Lana Leigh, demonstrate a vision game. In this one, by having the patient put on goggles with two different-colored lenses and asking them about the color of a white balloon, it can test if both eyes are working together.
Hartman and her daughter demonstrate a vision game where Lana Leigh tries to walk across a beam while dodging swinging balls. This is used to test depth perception.
Dr. Jenessa Hartman is the owner of Sunflower Vision Care, located in The Dalles.
Alana Lackner photo
If you ask someone to picture a vision clinic, it’s likely they’ll think of eye charts, walls lined with models of glasses and maybe a fancy machine or two. What they might not think of is a pair of goggles with two different colored lenses, colorful mats or a balance beam below swinging balls. However, at Sunflower Vision Care in The Dalles, patrons are likely to see all of the above.
“It’s a little different than your traditional optometry practice,” owner Dr. Jenessa Hartman said.
Sunflower does do traditional optometry, but they also specialize in vision therapy, Hartman said. Vision therapy is similar to physical therapy or speech therapy, but focuses around fixing vision problems and making sure the eyes are working together correctly.
Hartman and her daughter, Lana Leigh, demonstrate a vision game. In this one, by having the patient put on goggles with two different-colored lenses and asking them about the color of a white balloon, it can test if both eyes are working together.
Alana Lackner photo
Hartman said though vision therapy is by no means new, it isn’t as common as it could be.
“(Vision therapy has) been around a really long time but it’s not in every city,” she said. “I’ve been in the Gorge for quite a while now and just felt like that was a huge need.”
A lot of the vision therapy patients they see are children, Hartman said, but they work with adults too. She said it’s been rewarding to help people of all ages.
“That’s my main reason for doing this,” she said. “(Vision therapy is) really life-changing, it’s just so awesome. That’s why I decided to open this practice, because I saw firsthand the difference it can make in people’s lives.”
Hartman has had an interest in vision therapy since optometry school, but didn’t feel equipped to be a vision therapist right away. It wasn’t until she spent a year and a half in Yakima working at a clinic that only did vision therapy that she felt equipped to start her own practice, she said.
Hartman and her daughter demonstrate a vision game where Lana Leigh tries to walk across a beam while dodging swinging balls. This is used to test depth perception.
Alana Lackner photo
Of course, it didn’t happen right away. She settled down, started a family and then had children to take care of. It wasn’t until recently that she finally felt equipped to start Sunflower Vision Care, which opened in March, Hartman said.
However, that’s not all she does. Hartman also works as an optometrist at Cascade Eye Center, where she’s worked for three years.
The work she does at Sunflower is a lot different than the work she does at Cascade Eye, she said. A basic eye exam, like the ones done at Cascade Eye, takes about 20-30 minutes, whereas a full screening of vision and ability, which they have at Sunflower, can take up to an hour.
“It’s more about how people are functioning in their lives, so we ask a lot about their symptoms,” Hartman said. “Just evaluating and spending more time on the visual skills like eye movements, focusing your eyes, working together. So the exam is really different.”
Hartman said it’s important that people know that vision problems can go beyond just near- or far-sightedness.
“Not all problems are obvious,” she said. “So if you have a child who’s struggling with reading, you might want to consider their vision being part of it … There might be more to the story.”
Sunflower Vision Care is located at 301 E. Second St. in The Dalles and is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday.
Commented
Sorry, there are no recent results for popular commented articles.