Sequim Vision Clinic eyes move

Owner says they wanted to be in Sequim's medical corridor

By Matthew Nash • January 27, 2016 1:30 pm
Doctors Neil Cays and Diana Thompson-Young stand in Sequim Vision Clinic’s new facility where they wanted to be closer to Sequim’s medical corridor and partnering agencies that they co-manage patients with in the area.
Doctors Neil Cays and Diana Thompson-Young stand in Sequim Vision Clinic’s new facility where they wanted to be closer to Sequim’s medical corridor and partnering agencies that they co-manage patients with in the area.

After 10 years on Washington Street, Sequim Vision Clinic recently made the move to the medical center of Sequim.

Dr. Diana Thompson-Young, owner of the clinic since 2000, said she wanted her business to be closer to the medical corridor of Sequim on Fifth Avenue.

“This gets us closer to everyone we work with,” she said, listing some partnering businesses like Northwest Eye Surgeons and Retina Center Northwest.

She purchased the former Sound Community Bank building last year and hosted her first patients on Jan. 11.

Thompson-Young continues to work with Dr. Neil Cays who helps patients three days a week.

Cays, a Sequim Irrigation Festival Grand Pioneer in 2013, opened the clinic in 1970 after practicing optometry in Ellensburg. He wanted to open a clinic sooner in Sequim but said he waited until there were enough people in the area to do so.

With the move, Thompson-Young said they continue to offer the same primary eye care services as before along with vision therapy, low vision services, contacts/glasses services, and more.

Over the years, the doctors agree the biggest shift in their business has been technology.

“It’s hard to keep up with the changing technology,” Thompson-Young said, which can costs hundreds of thousands of dollars per machine.

“But it’s nice to have other facilities to co-manage with.”

They recently purchased an Opto-map, an ultra-wide digital retinal imaging device, which the doctors can use in-house and send pictures to other doctors/specialists.

Cays said by co-managing patients with other facilities they can request or send needed information which can help for treatment like glaucoma.

Sequim Vision Clinic continues to accept new patients with regular appointments available typically between two-four weeks. Thompson-Young said they try to schedule patients with emergencies sooner.

As for the clinic’s former building at 128 E. Washington St., Jose’s Famous Salsa owner Jose Garcia said he plans to expand into the space but has not set a timeline.

For more information on Sequim Vision Clinic, 541 N. Fifth Ave., call 683-3389 or visit www.sequimvisionclinic.com.