by Jessica Pasley
The surgery center adjacent to the Vanderbilt Eye Institute Lebanon has closed and surgical care for VEI patients is moving to the Vanderbilt Wilson County Hospital Surgery Center.
The change is one that VEI is looking forward to — providing expanded services, newer technology and additional space beginning in December.
“We are moving our surgical cases to a larger facility which will provide us additional opportunities to be able to take care of patients with more complicated medical needs,” said Sean Donahue, MD, PhD, vice chair of Clinical Affairs and Patient Care Center director at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
“We are excited about this transition and enhancing the care of our patients in an expanded setting.”
VEI Lebanon has delivered comprehensive eye care in Wilson County for nearly a decade, seeing about 23,000 visits a year.
Located on West Main in Lebanon, the VEI office is less than 1 mile from the hospital. The outpatient surgical center, a stand-alone facility, sits on the hospital campus on West Baddour Parkway.
“We will transfer all of our surgical services to the hospital site,” said Jessica Mather, MD, assistant professor of Clinical Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at Vanderbilt.
“The move will provide us an opportunity to enhance the surgical experience for our patients. It also means all new equipment with state-of-the art technology that we did not have before.”
Five surgeons who see patients in the VEI Lebanon location will continue to perform procedures in the new setting. Four will focus on cataract surgery and limited glaucoma laser surgery, including Mather, Christine Rust, MD, assistant professor of Ophthalmology, William Schenk, MD, assistant professor of Ophthalmology, and Jeffrey Kammer, MD, associate professor of Ophthalmology. Behin Barahimi, MD, assistant professor of Ophthalmology, an oculoplastic specialist, will perform procedures to correct droopy eyelids and remove eyelid lesions.
The move to the surgical center will not disrupt patient care, said Mather. The medical team will serve its patients in various surgical sites in the area until the new location is ready.