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Pamela J. Poland, M.D.
 and Her Staff

Pamela J. Poland, M.D. - Ophthalmologist (EyeMD)

Bob Amis - Practice Administrator & Contact Lens Technician

Heidi Bailey - Optician

Vickie Dailey - Front Office Assistant: Visual Field Technician

Shawn Lessert - Front Office Assistant: Receptionist

Tabbatha Smith - Front Office Assistant: Insurance Coordinator

Valerie Smith - Ophthalmic Assistant: Screener and Biometrist

Donna Stevens - Front Office Manager & Receptionist

Erica Wilson - Nurse and Surgical Technician

Pamela J. Poland, MD

Dr. Poland was raised in a small town near Chattanooga, Tennessee. After graduating from High School as Valedictorian of her class, she attended the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga where she graduated Summa Cum Laude with a perfect 4.0 GPA with two majors in Biology and Math. After contemplating pursuing a Ph.D. in mathematics, she decided to become a Medical Doctor.  Dr. Poland attended the University of Tennessee at Memphis Medical School from which she graduated with highest honors. After a one-year internship in Chattanooga, she returned to Memphis and completed a three year residency program in Ophthalmology.

Dr. Poland is a Diplomate of the American Board of Ophthalmology and a Fellow of the American Academy of Ophthalmology.  Dr. Poland enjoys reading, studying and attending seminars on advanced techniques, treatments and procedures in Ophthalmology.

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Bob Amis; B.A. (Biology), M.Th.

Bob is our Practice Administrator, Chief Technical Instructor, Refractometrist and Contact Lens Technician.

As Practice Administrator, Bob is responsible for the hiring and administration of staff, employee payroll and benefits, purchasing, accounts payable and OSHA and HIPAA compliance.  Bob is also responsible for marketing and media production/designer and serves as our computer information systems coordinator.  Bob trains our staff in all areas of technical skills and serves as our back-up surgical assistant to Dr. Poland for in-office surgeries.  He also maintains and repairs most instruments used in the office.

As Ophthalmic Technician, Bob works with patients on a daily basis performing retinoscopy and refractometry and assists Dr. Poland in the design and fitting of Rigid Gas Permeable and Soft Contact Lenses.  For many years, Bob was a Certified Ophthalmic Technician (COT) and was also Certified by the National Contact Lens Examiners (NCLC).

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Heidi Bailey

Heidi is our optician.  Along with Dr. Poland, Heidi works closely with patients to help them select the lenses that are best suited for them both from a cosmetic standpoint and also based upon the patient's lifestyle and activities.  Both Dr. Poland and Heidi keep abreast of the advanced technology available today, so that the patient has the option to have glasses made with highly advanced features to greatly increase their visual comfort and acuity.

Heidi is very detailed oriented and works diligently on behalf of the patient to make sure they receive the best of care, both at the time of purchase but also afterwards with glasses adjustments and warranty issues. Patients will find Heidi takes the time necessary to properly select, fit and adjust glasses to provide the best vision and comfort possible.

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Vickie Dailey

Vickie serves as a Front Office Assistant and is our primary Visual Field Technician.

Vickie joined us after almost eight years working at the Pharmacy in Wal-Mart.  She assists in the front office, working alongside with Donna and the person we will hire as our insurance coordinator.  Besides checking patients in, filing, checking patient eligibility, answering the phone and scheduling and confirming appointments, she performs most of our computerized visual fields.  Many patients know her from Wal-Mart's pharmacy and are pleased to now see her working with us, as she is very friendly, cheerful and outgoing.

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Shawn Lessert

Shawn worked for us several years ago, both in the front office as a front office assistant scheduling appointments and receptionist, and in our optical as an Optician.  We are now fortunate to have Shawn work with us as our "on-call" staff member; when an employee if out sick or on vacation, Shawn is available to come in and fill that position allowing us to continue to see patients in an efficient manner.

Shawn's main responsibilities include triaging patient calls, scheduling and confirming appointments, posting patient exams and payments, filing and performing computerized visual fields.  Shawn's friendly and outgoing personality, attention to detail and professional service oriented attitude is appreciated by our patients and fellow staff members.

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Tabbatha Smith

Tabbatha is our Insurance Coordinator.  As our Insurance Coordinator, Tabbatha is responsible for verifying insurance coverage and eligibility, the electronic filing of patient visits to the insurance company and the posting of insurance payments to patients accounts.  If an insurance company fails to pay correctly, Tabbatha contacts the insurance company and makes sure that they comply and that the patient receives the full payment to which they are entitled.  Tabbatha also checks patients in and out, post patient's visits visits with Dr. Poland and schedules appointments.

Patients enjoy working with Tabbatha because besides being so thorough and detail oriented, she is a strong advocate for the patient when working with insurance companies.

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Valerie Smith, C.O.A.

Valerie serves as our Screener and Ultrasound Biometrist.  Valerie is responsible for screening patients before being seen by Dr. Poland.  She also performs our pre-operative cataract measurements and many of our other ocular measurements, including measuring the curvature of the cornea (Keratometry Readings) and Tangent Screen Visual Fields.  Valerie also performs our Glare Testing and Potential Acuity Meter measurements for our patients with cataracts.   Valerie also instructs our cataract patients before cataract surgery in how to care for their eyes to get the best results possible.  Valerie is cross-trained to scribe for Dr. Poland and also helps in the front office as needed with filing, triaging patient phone calls and scheduling appointments and checking patients in and out.  Valerie serves as our back-up surgical technician if Erica is not available.

Valerie is a Certified Ophthalmic Assistant by the Joint Commission on Allied Health Personnel in Ophthalmology.

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Donna Stevens

Donna is our Front Office Manager and is responsible for the management of our front office.  Donna has been with us since the early 1990's (she says she was a very young teenager when she started working with us).  Donna left us to care for her three children when they were very young for several years, but has now been back with us again for over six years.  Her responsibilities include the triaging of patient calls and scheduling appointments, posting patient exams and the coordination of patient benefits with insurance companies.  She is also responsible for Accounts Receivable and patient statements.  Donna is our "go-to" person, she usually has the answer to the most esoteric of questions regarding anything front-office related.

Patients really enjoy working with Donna as she is very knowledgeable and friendly, with a warm and engaging personality.  Also, she can answer almost any general eye care question as a former Certified Ophthalmic Assistant and her many years of experience working and training with us.

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Erica Wilson, C.O.A.

Erica is Dr. Poland's Nurse and Surgical Technician.  As our nurse, Erica records all of Dr. Poland's exam findings in the patient's medical chart. She is also responsible for the education of our patients concerning diseases, surgeries, use of medications and eye drops, etc.  As our Surgical Technician, she assists Dr. Poland during in-office surgeries, including lid surgeries, laser surgery and lesion removals.

Erica, as with all of our staff, is cross-trained to screen patients and perform ocular measurements and often helps with screening patients to assure that patients are seen in a timely manner.  Erica also helps in our front office with filing, scheduling appointments and triaging patient phone calls.  When Dr. Poland is out of the office attending educational meetings and training, Erica is often the person working in the front office, as she has the expertise medially to know how to deal with any emergency that may present.

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