Dr. Amy Chang comes to Niwot Vision

September 8 marked the beginning of a new chapter at Niwot Vision Center. Dr. Amy Chang, OD, FAAO, FCOVD, joined the staff there and will assume ownership of the practice as of the new year. Dr. Rebecca Hutchins OD, FCOVD will retain ownership until then and plans to see patients on a part-time basis after the transition.

Chang not only is new to the practice, she's new to Niwot and to Colorado. She, her husband, and their two French bulldogs moved to the area from Minnesota where she was on staff at a Level 1 Trauma hospital in downtown Minneapolis. Before that, she worked in North Carolina doing vision related brain injury work with active duty soldiers in the military.

In addition to providing direct medical care, Chang has taught, published multiple journal articles, and written a book on vision therapy. The book, simply titled Neurovision Rehabilitation Guide, serves as a manual for other practitioners in the field.

Future plans for the practice reflect Chang's depth of experience in TBI-related vision care. "I want to help people get back to the activities that are important to them after their injury," she said. "It may be as simple as helping them be able to drive and have their independence or helping them be able to read again. Whatever their goals, I have been able to make a lot of difference for people by prescribing specialized prescription lenses and with vision therapy."

Chang believes that a vision therapy focus is especially important for an active, outdoors community that has its share of families and kids. She has seen that vision therapy can be highly effective after injuries, in patients who have experienced a stroke or with children and adolescents experiencing developmental eye problems.

In addition to helping individuals with focusing on TBI-related brain injury cases, Chang plans to continue the regular vision care, such as eye exams and contact lens fittings, that the office has always provided.

Chang likes the culture of spending significant time on office visits. "Dr. Hutchins spends, like, 45 minutes with each patient at least," she said. "Her model and the way she takes care of patients is very much what I wanted to do but it wasn't so possible in a hospital setting. That's part of what drew me to the practice."

Chang has noticed that she's seeing a higher rate of sports-related injuries here than at her previous job. In Minnesota, injuries were more likely to be the results of slips and falls or motor vehicle accidents.

Colorado's outdoor lifestyle is one of the things that drew Chang to the area. She's looking forward to hiking and hoping to complete some fourteeners before the end of the fall.

When she's not working or outdoors, she is a silversmith, jewelry maker, painter, and a photographer. This spring, she and her husband plan to welcome her mother-in-law, a sculptor and potter, to live with them. She anticipates creating art together and many joint visits to pottery studios and galleries.

Chang's new life here is a long way from where she was born and raised in Long Island, New York. After realizing she wanted to be an optometrist at 16 she went to school at SUNY-Binghamton for her undergraduate degree. She finished her formal education at SUNY optometry school where she discovered her passion for helping patients with TBI-related vision problems.

Given that the future of the practice will almost certainly enhance its focus on expanding vision therapy work, Chang is considering a name change. She said, "It will reflect our commitment to the Niwot community, but also the specialty that we have in the office." Such a change will not happen right away, but it is possible in time.

The rest of the year will be spent getting to know the area and enjoying her new Colorado life when she's not busy treating patients. "My husband and I really love the outdoors. We're glad [to be] somewhere that we could be outdoors for more months out of the year."