PHOTO: CHRIS MOONEY
BizHEALTH
Forward Vision By Christy Krueger A move from Williamsburg, Va., to Tucson was a nobrainer for ophthalmologist Timothy Hodges and optometrist Angela Hodges once they heard what came with the deal. The two had met years before at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., married, and went into private practice – separately. “We’d always thought about moving West,” said Timothy Hodges, who earned his medical degree from Ohio State University and completed his residency training at Walter Reed. He’s certified by the American Board of Ophthalmology. “We looked into Washington and California. One trip we made it to Arizona and when we went back to Virginia, I said, ‘why are we living here?’ My wife saw an ad in a trade magazine for a practice for sale in Tucson and she called him –Dr. Fred Grimm. He’d built a great practice and had a freestanding ambulatory surgical center – one of the first in Tucson. The idea to come here and buy an established practice with an ambulatory center was quite 76 BizTucson
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Spring 2013
appealing.” The entire purchasing process took a brief three months, and in June 2003, Timothy and Angela were working – together this time – in their own practice, which they renamed Hodges Eye Care and Surgical Center. Grimm had been offering refractive surgery to his patients. Hodges decided to add laser vision correction surgery. “I did LASIK surgery in Virginia and thought it was important we build a laser center in our office,” he said. LASIK stands for laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis. During the procedure a flap is made in the cornea. The laser is used for reshaping. Then the flap is repositioned, he explained. Before LASIK, the most common type of refractive surgery was photorefractive keratectomy, Hodges said. “Today PRK is seldom performed because LASIK provides better vision faster with much less discomfort.” One advantage the couple had in moving to Tucson was that there were not a lot of ophthalmologists here
Optometrist Angela Hodges and Ophthalmologist Timothy Hodges