Ribbon cutting for Medicine Hat's first mobile eye care service (Photo Courtesy Ross Lavigne)

By Gates Guarin

full, comprehensive eye exams

New mobile vision service extends reach to those with limited access

May 25, 2022 | 5:19 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – A local optometrist is making it easier to provide comprehensive eye care to those who may not be able to visit an eye doctor.

Dr. Michael McClung has introduced a mobile vision care service, the first of its kind in Medicine Hat. The service is meant to provide to those who may have difficulty accessing a physical clinic. McClung has already made house calls to several people in the community as well as those in nursing homes. He says he is excited to be helping those in the community get the proper eye care they need.

“A lot of people just have a hard time, particularly the seniors getting out and about. People with various disabilities, they just have a hard time getting to any particular facility to get a proper eye exam. And so they leave it and leave it until sometimes it’s too late,” McClung says. “So we’re trying to get more access to the community for people who have special needs. It’s been great.”

McClung had been planning this service since late last summer.

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“About September, I started to more seriously contemplate it and started looking into equipment,” McClung says. “It came together around January with the purchase of a vehicle.” Research into the portability and weight of equipment and how to protect it all were just some of the challenges McClung faced. McClung says once issues around transporting equipment were solved, the service was ready to be rolled out.

The service van will be able to provide most services you would get at a traditional eye clinic such as full, comprehensive eye exams, tools for glasses repair and glasses which can be sold onsite.

“It’s been well-received, and the patients love it,” McClung says. “They say ‘this is so convenient.’ They have such a hard time coordinating things, getting out and getting to the various facilities and getting eye care.”

Representatives of the Medicine Hat Chamber of Commerce were in attendance at the official ribbon cutting. Pamela Kunz, member relations manager for the Chamber says the service’s reach will have a significant impact on the community.

“We are known as a retirement community, and there are actually a lot more people that we know that are homebound,” Kunz says. “Actually with the last two years of COVID, it’s given people that little bit of normalcy back actually, being able to do the services that they require, and not feeling intimidated or scared to come out of their homes.”