Tucked away in the Lutheran Health Plaza on the corner of Minnich Road and Highway 30E you will find New Haven Optical, LLC. Inside you will find not only an array of eyeglass frames, but a group of people that are very committed to healthy eyes for your family. Attending Indiana University in Bloomington, Dr. Baker was working on a Chemistry Degree. As he considered several career options which he found interesting, Dr. Baker, in the end, chose to be an Optometrist.
Dr. Baker was born in Bloomington as his parents were both students there. He said, “When my Dad graduated, his first job was in Ft. Wayne, and so they moved to New Haven.”
Being the oldest of five children, Dr. Baker shared that his four siblings were delivered by Dr. Hetzer, a doctor in New Haven at that time. When Dr. Baker was still young their family moved out to the country; on the southwest side of Fort Wayne.
In 1987, which was Dr. Baker’s senior year in college, he discovered that Dr. Bennett a new Optometrist in Decatur was looking for an associate. Joining that practice, Dr. Baker moved back into the area just north of New Haven. Then in 1994 Dr. Baker opened New Haven Optical.
New Haven Optical is very much a family practice. Dr. Baker sees patients of all ages and will do eye exams on everybody. Dr. Baker said, “I have one family that comes up from Decatur. When they come in, it is kind of neat because at one time there are four generations of women all sitting in my waiting area.”
When asked what sort of things New Haven Optical does Dr. Baker said, “I do a lot of pre and post operative work for cataract surgery. I treat glaucoma. I treat eye infections, and remove foreign bodies from eyes—wood, metal, etc. We prepare glasses, contacts, things like that. The standard things people think of in regards to eye care.”
An interesting service New Haven Optical does is free Kindergarten eye exams. Indiana has a state law that children entering Kindergarten must have an eye exam. Dr. Baker said, “You don’t have to have a form from the school to get it done, you just come in. It takes about five minutes. What we are doing is screening for any problems, that way we catch it before they fall behind in school. If problems are found, the parents are informed and then a more thorough exam needs to take place. That can be done here or somewhere else.”
Dr. Baker continued, “I’ve been doing those exams since the law went into effect, around 1986. After the free exam, I give them a coloring book. Right now I see mostly parochial school children. Those schools give out lists of Optometrists in the area that do the exams.”
In talking about what he does, Dr. Baker said, “Really, I just enjoy sitting and talking with people. While we are talking I just happen to examine their eyes.”
The business of eye care is rapidly changing. Dr. Baker shared that the amount of equipment available out there has dramatically increased in the last three to four years. He said, “It’s amazing how we just go through a decade or so and four manufacturers will come out with things and say ‘oh, you need this now’ and you just don’t have room for it or you can’t afford it.”
Insurance has been instrumental in changing the face of Optometry. Ten years ago 40% of the patients did not have insurance. New Haven Optical tailored things to that group making their services and products affordable. Now more people have insurance that covers eye care services. In fact for a while New Haven Optical lost some of their patients due to insurance coverage issues.
Also, Dr. Baker shared that insurance creates more overhead. “This is caused by extra paperwork and because the insurance companies only pay about a third of what you would have normally made,” said Dr. Baker. “But that is the nature of the beast across the board.”
You probably won’t see any two for one sales at New Haven Optical. Dr. Baker shared, “I could have done that a long time ago, but my first priority is taking care of their eyes. Often those glasses offered at bargain prices have two and three dollar frames. They may look fine but they are not going to hold up.”
New Haven Optical warranties every frame because that is the right thing to do. It is Dr. Baker’s opinion that if something breaks, then something must be wrong with the frames. Because of that they warranty every eyeglass frame for free.
New Haven Optical has been a New Haven Chamber of Commerce member since they opened in 1994. Dr. Baker had this to say about his Chamber membership, “I just firmly believe that, being a member of the Chamber of Commerce is something ‘you should do’. It’s the right thing to do, you support your town. So the biggest benefit I get is the knowledge that New Haven is running well. I don’t want to see businesses go out of business and leave. I like the hometown feel. I like going to a smaller store or whatever, where they know you, and they can take care of things a little bit better. I prefer that sort of atmosphere and I don’t want to see it leave.”
To see all of the services provided at New Haven Optical go to their website www.newhavenoptical.net. It will tell you to protect your precious eyesight. You only get one set of eyes. Be sure you take proper care of them with help from New Haven Optical.
