Excellence In Eye Care Expands Focus On Kiddie Eye Care

The staff at Excellence In Eye Care, located inside the Costco on S.R. 56, includes (l.-r.) optometric technician Jill Wagner, Dr. David Scamard and office manager and optometric technician Eileen Aldrich. (Photos: Charmaine George)

For nearly 20 years, independent optometrist David Scamard, O.D., has taken care of patients’ eyes in New Tampa and Wesley Chapel. Even before his practice was called “Excellence In Eye Care,” that’s exactly what he always strived to deliver.

Since 2017, Dr. Scamard’s Excellence In Eye Care, LLC, has been located inside the Costco next to the Tampa Premium Outlets on S.R. 56. Prior to that, it was located off of S.R. 54 in Lutz.

He has been practicing much longer than that, however, since he opened his first private practice in New Tampa way back in 2002. 

He had previously earned his undergraduate degree at the University of South Florida in Tampa and earned his Doctor of Optometry (O.D.) degree from Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale.

Some people who see Dr. Scamard inside Costco have been his patients over the last two decades and originally found him at one of his previous locations.

For example, patient Jill Bonnville and her husband Frank Filippone saw Dr. Scamard for about 10 years when he was located on S.R. 54, but then lost touch. They saw several doctors closer to their home in Town ‘N Country, but every year, when it was time for their exams, Jill would again try to find Dr. Scamard.

Of all the doctors who have tried to help her with her admittedly difficult eyes, Jill says, “He’s the only doctor who nails it the first time, every time.”

And, while it takes her nearly an hour to get to his office, she says it’s worth it.

Jill says she went back to another doctor for several months in a row to get a prescription that would allow her to see better, but that doctor kept getting it wrong.

When she finally found Dr. Scamard again, “I couldn’t believe it,” Jill says. “It was very similar to when I first had to get glasses as a kid. When I put them on, I went, ‘Wow. This is what everything is supposed to look like.’ I didn’t even realize it was that bad until he fixed it.”

Wee Care Eye Care Coming Soon

Coming this fall, Excellence In Eye Care will introduce Wee Care Eye Care, offering a new experience that is focused (no pun intended) on children’s eye care.

While Dr. Scamard has always seen babies and children, the new program will expand the practice’s focus on kids, with a specially-designed, kid-friendly exam room and education targeted at parents.

Dr. Scamard uses state-of-the-art equipment to elevate his practice beyond just a place to get glasses.

“A lot of times, parents are under the false impression that their kids’ eyes are being checked thoroughly at school or they can address problems once a child starts having them, but problems are missed in school screenings,” explains Dr. Scamard. “Children think that’s just the way the world looks. They don’t realize they should be able to see better. They could even end up with visual problems, such as a lazy eye, that may never be fully corrected because the visual pathways haven’t formed properly.”

He says that parents should bring their children in for an eye exam once a year and that children’s eyes often change even more quickly than that.

Dr. Scamard also is a charter member of a program called Infant-See. For babies who are at least six months old but not yet one year, Dr. Scamard will do their first eye exam for free. “It takes less than 10 minutes and allows us to check everything out from an optometrist’s point of view.”

New Technology For Sports

Also this fall, Dr. Scamard and his team will introduce a sports vision therapy program for people of all ages to improve their sports performance.

Using a specialized machine called the Sanet Vision Integrator (bottom photo on next page), patients can improve their hand-to-eye coordination and reaction time. Dr. Scamard says it will help athletes in many sports, including baseball, hockey and others.

Eileen Aldrich, the practice’s office manager, who also is an optometric technician, explains, “It will give them better visual perception, such as when to use a racket to hit the ball, and gets them more focused on using vision to reach their training or sports goals.”

The machine hooks up to a large, touch-screen television, which provides exercises for the person being trained to respond to, while they work on balance using a Wii Fit board.

“There’s no one else in the area who has this instrument,” Dr. Scamard says, “so we’re very unique in that regard.”

He says many patients are impressed with all of the latest technology available at Excellence In Eye Care.

For example, Dr. Scamard uses a high-tech retinal imager to view the internal structures of the eyes. He also uses a digital refractor, which he says is faster, more accurate and more efficient than the old-style analog devices, and patients like that they don’t have to have their eyes dilated. 

“We’re state of the art,” he says.

The entire process from eye exam to putting the glasses on your face or the contacts in your eyes can be completed right there in Costco. However, while you do not need to be a member of the wholesale club to visit Excellence in Eyecare and have an exam, you do need to be a Costco member to get your glasses and contact lenses from the wholesale giant’s eyewear department right next to the office. 

Excellence In Eye Care does not accept vision insurance plans. However, Eileen says, “We do offer a detailed, itemized bill once a patient is seen. The patient can then send that bill to their insurance company for reimbursement.”

Dr. Scamard, Eileen and optometric technician Jill Wagner will do whatever it takes to help you with your eye care needs.

“We want our patients to feel comfortable,” says Dr. Scamard. “We listen to our patients, address their needs, and we take our time with them. We really pride ourselves on making sure our patients are happy — that’s always our goal.”

Jill Bonnville says she is one of those very happy patients.

“He’s very kind, he’s extremely patient,” says Jill. “I ask a lot of questions and he explains both the scientific stuff and what it means. It’s always a nice experience.”

Excellence In Eye Care is located inside the Costco Wesley Chapel Warehouse at 2225 Grand Cypress Dr. (on the south side of S.R. 56) in Lutz. The office is open Tuesday and Thursday, 1 p.m.-7 p.m.; 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on Wednesday and Friday; and 10 a.m.-2 p.m. on Saturday. For more information, call (813) 279-7038 or visit ExcellenceInEyecare.net.

Costco Delays Opening To Feb. 2017

Clearwater store manager Hector Mencia tells the Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce that Costco’s opening near the Tampa Premium Outlets will be delayed until Feb. 2017, due to rainy weather.

Costco
Clearwater store manager Hector Mencia tells the Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce that Costco’s opening near the Tampa Premium Outlets will be delayed until Feb. 2017, due to rainy weather.

Costco manager Hector Mencia had some good news for local business leaders at the Aug. 25 Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce (WCCC) Economic Development briefing held at Pebble Creek Golf Club.

Costco, for one, is still definitely coming to Wesley Chapel Blvd. adjacent to the Tampa Premium Outlets (TPO) off S.R. 56. And yes, it will offer its usual great prices and bountiful free samples. The largest retailer of fine wine in the world (a whopping $1.2 billion in yearly sales!) and second-largest auto retailer will continue to sell cheaper and better gas, millions of $1.50 hot dogs and drinks and the company’s highly-rated Kirkland line of products.

Oh, and don’t forget Costco’s commitment to the local community, in addition to well-paying jobs (if you’re lucky enough to land one).

There was, however, one bad bit of news that Mencia, who manages the Costco in Clearwater, delivered: It won’t open near TPO until February of next year.

Though the ground has been broken and the initial work is well under way, Mencia said the planned November opening of the much-awaited Costco has been derailed by bad weather, setting builders back by at least two weeks. And, that was before last week’s tropical storm.

Because Costco doesn’t open stores in December and January, its peak months, the new store won’t open its doors until early February.

That is a big bummer for Costco fans, who currently have to drive to Brandon to stock up on paper towels and soft drinks.

But, those fans of Costco, which also is opening a store in the Citrus Park area at the corner of Sheldon Rd. and Linebaugh Ave., are likely still excited by the arrival of the membership-only, wholesale club giant, the second-largest retailer in the world after Wal-Mart.

While Costco will have plenty of competition, with fellow wholesalers Sam’s Club (on S.R. 56 in Wesley Chapel) and New Tampa’s BJ’s Wholesale Club (on Commerce Palms Blvd. in Tampa Palms) both within seven miles of the newest club, it is likely to find success, due to its religious-like following.

“We’ve been trying to get in here for quite a bit in this market,’’ Mencia said. “It’s a great location. It’s amazing what that area is turning into.”

Hectore Mencia
Hector Mencia

Mencia shared with Chamber members the benefits of Costco, clearly drawing positive reactions from the crowd. He played a five-minute video filled with clips of Costco being mentioned by celebrities, including Rosie O’Donnell saying: “I go in with a list and a mission, and I come out with a trampoline and a case of corn nuts.”

Another clip showed massive crowds at various openings, including places like South Korea, Spain and Australia, and long lines for jobs at many locations.

If you’re wondering about your chances of landing a gig at Costco — where Mencia said the average pay is $21 an hour and cashiers start between $13 and $13.50 an hour — well, they aren’t great. According to one clip, an Indiana store received 22,000 applications for 200-275 jobs. You might have a better shot finding a Willie Wonka Golden Ticket.

Mencia, who has been with Costco for 27 years, said there is a low turnover at the wholesaler, and that the store will begin marketing six weeks prior to opening for those looking for memberships.

Those members will have a ton of choices, he says. Costco carries roughly 3,800 products, and rotates 1,500 or so to create a “treasure atmosphere” at least 14 times a year.

And last year, on a single day, three days before Thanksgiving, Costco sold more than 70 million dinner rolls, 1.6 million pumpkin pies, 471,000 apple pies and 252,000 pecan pies.

For more information about  Costco, visit Costco.com. 

Nibbles & Bytes: Costco, BJ’s & Longhorn All Getting Closer!

BJs
BJ’s Brewhouse

If it’s been more than a week or two since you visited the outlet mall area, you may not have seen that two more restaurants  in front of the new mall are going vertical, as BJ’s Brewhouse and Longhorn Steakhouse are both closer to having their separate buildings completed.

BJ’s, which is directly across Grand Cypress Dr. from Cheddar’s, is the closer of the two, although the construction process on both restaurants will go quickly now that the shells of the buildings themselves are nearly completed.

If you drive west and south behind Cheddar’s, Chick-fil-A and Culver’s on Sun Vista Dr., you’ll also notice that the site of the 152,626-sq.-ft. Costco also has been cleared and appears to be getting ready to go vertical shortly.

We’ll keep you posted about these and other developments along S.R. 56, both in these pages and on future episodes of WCNT-tv.

Longhorn2