Doctors and staff at the 10th Street Eyecare Center in Great Bend and the Russell Eyecare Center in Russell announced procedure updates in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Starting Wednesday, March 25th and until further notice, in accordance with recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control, we will be contacting patients to reschedule all non-emergency appointments. Our offices will be closed to the general public to adhere to these recommendations, including our optical departments,” a letter to patients states.
“This decision was not made lightly, but takes into the consideration the safety and welfare of our patients, staff, doctors, and the community at large.”
The centers will continue to provide vision-saving treatment for patients with urgent medical issues. Each office will be staffed with at least one doctor and a few support staff to handle emergency cases that may arise, including but not limited to:
• Sudden loss of vision or decrease in vision
• Flashes and/or floaters
• Red eye or painful eye
• Injury or trauma
• Broken or lost glasses without a back-up pair
Great Bend’s office will be staffed Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. to deal with such emergencies. Russell’s office will be open Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. There will be no evening or weekend hours available until further notice.
Anyone with questions concerning medication refills or ordering contact lenses may contact staff via telephone. They can be reached at 620-792-2020 (Great Bend) or 785-483-2451 (Russell). Contact lenses can be mailed to patients that need them urgently.
Outside of the regular hours, the offices have a 24/7 answering service that can take evening and weekend messages and relay those to our medical staff as needed. Both optical departments will remain closed during this time, and any glasses ordered prior to March 24 will be available for pick up once the office reopens to the public.
“We value the care and safety of all our patients and staff, and thank you for your understanding during this challenging time. These actions will also help preserve personal protective equipment and patient care supplies. As new information develops, we will continue to monitor the situation and will reopen to the public as soon as it is safe to do so. If you have any concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact us.”