Pioneering practice continues to provide gift of sight to many
BEST VISION CARE CLINIC McFarland Eye Care BEST OPHTHALMOLOGIST Evan Newbolt, M.D. BEST OPTOMETRIST Shelby Brogdon, O.D. >> FINALIST: BEST OPTOMETRIST Stephanie Willett, O.D. >>
Patients were so few and far between in McFarland Eye Care’s early days, the story goes, that clinic founder Dr. Mike McFarland would often fill the time playing basketball with the neighborhood kids across the street. When a patient did come in, a staff member would famously stand outside and yell for the doctor to come in off the court.
Times have changed since the original practice opened in Pine Bluff in 1981. Today, McFarland Eye Care is a leading provider in Arkansas, operating three surgery centers and additional clinics in Little Rock and Hot Springs. Yet the underlying mission remains the same.
“Our mission is to provide a dazzling experience to each and every patient,” said Dr. James Hoffmann, cataract surgeon and owning partner. “That’s our way of saying our goal is to provide exceptional experiences and exceptional outcomes. Our team believes that changing vision equals changing lives. This is what gets us out of bed in the morning.
“It really is a privilege to be able to give the gift of sight to someone. With this mission and a team of people working together to achieve it, McFarland’s a place that’s a joy to be a part of.”
McFarland Eye Care gathered four awards in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette’s 2023 Best of the Best voting, including winners in Best Vision Care Clinic; Best Optometrist, Shelby Brogdon, O.D.; and Best Ophthalmologist, Evan Newbolt, M.D.; and a finalist in the Best Optometrist category, Stephanie Willett, O.D.
A pioneering practice that performed the first no-stitch cataract surgery, McFarland Eye Care has always been known for staying at the forefront of medical innovation and surgical technology.
“As a premier cataract refractive practice, we prioritize the importance of using the latest innovations in technology to maximize patient outcomes,” Hoffmann said. “However, it is important to balance and vet out new technologies to ensure they have been properly assessed and studied by the [Food and Drug Administration] and other peer-reviewed studies prior to implementing them in our practice.
“It is our responsibility to ensure these new technologies deliver the outcomes they’re promising. We are constantly researching, testing and watching as new things pop up. If a technology is able to help us better care for our patients, we adopt it.”
As technology-forward as the practice may be, Hoffmann is quick to point out that it is the human element that sets McFarland apart from the competition.
“Our greatest asset is our team,” he said. “Every person at McFarland plays a critical role in patient care. They absolutely are the culture of McFarland’s. We are so blessed to have such a large group of people committed to personal excellence, and I could not be more proud to work alongside my fellow physicians and team members here to serve the people of Arkansas.
“It’s really humbling to know that we’ve been able to make a difference in so many people’s lives that they would think of McFarland Eye Care and our physicians as the Best of the Best. Thank you all so much for this honor.”