March 2016
For husband and wife optometrists Kimberly and Michael Hoyt, owners of Artisan Eyeworks, eye care begins with establishing genuine human connections with their patients. “Our patients are treated like individual, complex human beings rather than simply as a diagnostic and treatment problem, not only by us but by every one of our excellent staff.”
The couple actually met in high school and stated dating in college. Both are residency trained optometrists, meaning they spent an extra year after school in a hospital setting delivering medical eye care.
In January 2015 after over 20 years serving the Rogue Valley at Medical Eye Center in Medford, the two decided it was time to start a practice to call their own.
“We are a classic mom and pop optometry practice with a few caveats,” Kimberly said. In order to give their patients their full attention, they cap their schedules at 8 to 10 patients per day. “We developed a business plan where we see far fewer patients per day, but still have the knowledge, experience and technology to take care of medical eye conditions in addition to doing routine eye care,” Kimberly continued. “We pride ourselves on developing genuine connections with our patients. It enriches our work experience, but it really translates into a fuller, more effective encounter for each patient.
“We can spend more time determining and fulfilling the ideal glasses or contact lens prescription and delve more deeply into multifactorial medical issues. The only way to accomplish this is to see far fewer patients in a day.”
With their field becoming very technology heavy, the Hoyts have decided to invest in technology that creates better patient outcomes, including being the only office in southern Oregon to feature a Zeiss iProfiler and the Zeiss iTerminal.
They also carry a unique variety of hand crafted frames, many which are exclusive in this region to Artisan and can’t otherwise be found without traveling to Portland or San Francisco. “We value smart design, quality, and fit over the brand label that is affixed to the side. Authenticity is very important to us. About 90% of the glasses sold in the United States are Chinese made. We are unique, at least in this region, in that we do not display any Chinese product. All our glasses are made in Europe, Japan or the United States, while still having a wide range of price points. We have a special section with more than 100 frames that are “Made in the USA.”
With their 20-plus years of experience in the busy ophthalmology field combined with Artisan Eyework’s intentionally low patient volume, the Hoyts have created a unique practice here in southern Oregon, and a fairly rare combination no matter where you look.
Artisan Eyeworks is located 215 4th Street in Ashland. For more information, please call 541-708-5350.
