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Dr. Paul Sternberg Jr., director of the new Vanderbilt Eye Institute, and his wife, Gloria.

At the end of March, officials cut the ribbon on the new Vanderbilt Eye Institute, an $11 million patient care and research facility. In doing so, the rapidly growing program integrated its adult and pediatric clinics, greatly expanded clinical space, updated technology and improved the aesthetics of patient areas.

“The facility is considerably larger so it has increased our capacity for seeing patients,” said Paul Sternberg, Jr., MD, chairman of the VEI. He added the new space takes the number of examination rooms from 33 to 53 to help meet increasing demand at Middle Tennessee’s largest ophthalmology practice, which is on track to serve 61,000 patients this year.

“We were not able to handle the capacity,” Sternberg said of the old clinic space. “We tried not to turn people away, but our waiting times were not optimal.”

He noted the clinical program had 14 physicians on staff when he arrived in 2003. Today, that number has jumped to 34 with room to add even more physicians.

Sternberg, who is also chairman of Vanderbilt’s Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, said the increased need for ophthalmic services is multi-factorial. Better treatment options have allowed clinicians to offer help where none was available before. Growth in the region has increased demand on both ends of the spectrum –– young children and aging adults. And, he continued, Vanderbilt University Medical Center as a whole has seen growth in the wake of increased accessibility, sensitivity to patient satisfaction and continued commitment to quality.

The construction project brought the Tennessee Lion’s Eye Center for Children and the adult clinic under the same roof.

“We feel that it’s a great advantage having them integrated,” Sternberg said. “First of all, we see each other,” he noted of the interaction among adult and pediatric ophthalmologists. “We have better integration of staff support, more commonality of how we work, easier access for consultation, and the kids have easy access to our wide range of ancillary testing.”

Other byproducts of the move were the chance to invest in the latest equipment and to configure space to meet the specific needs of a teaching facility.

“The new building has state-of-the-art imaging and laser technology that is not available anywhere else in the region,” Sternberg said, adding the space also allows for increased educational areas for medical trainees including a wet lab for surgical instruction.

Last, but not least, he continued, the actual design of the facility is aesthetically pleasing and incorporates finishes that account for the specific patient population being served.

“It is a beautiful building that we designed not to feel institutional. It uses earth tones and soft lighting so we’re sensitive to our patients impaired vision,” Sternberg noted, adding Vanderbilt teamed with consultants that specialize in pinpointing materials that assist in wayfinding and navigation for those with lower visual acuity.

The Vanderbilt Eye Institute, located on Pierce Avenue in the South Garage Office Building, houses a refractive laser suite, diagnostics area, an optical retail shop, designated exam and waiting rooms for all sub-specialty care, departmental offices and clinical research activities.



July 2008

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