North Valley Eye Care breaks ground on its most ambitious project to date

A campus built for community

It has been nine years since we wrote our first article on Drs. Isaac Barthelow and Anthony Rudick, owners of North Valley Eye Care and what is now the Ridge Eye Institute. Since then, we have had the pleasure of delivering stories from countless patients who have been thrilled with their newfound eyesight, profiled each of the new doctors joining their practice, interviewed staff, and cataloged their rapid expansion throughout Northern California. They have opened 14 new locations since that first article was published, but the original North Valley Eye Care office has remained put, undergoing repeated remodels, each with the goal of providing a more effective and conducive working environment for staff and patients alike. After building brand new offices throughout the North State, Drs. Barthelow and Rudick have returned to the office that started it all with an ambitious new development that will once again set the standard for eye care clinics in Northern California.

“We really needed to expand,” Dr. Barthelow laughed, “We had outgrown the original North Valley Eye Care office years ago, but we just did whatever we could to make it work. We started in 2006 with 1,500 square feet and grew wherever we could until we maxed out at 4,081 square feet. Although we added nearby administrative offices, it didn’t help alleviate the lack of space for everything else. The need to expand clinical services was the primary driver for moving the clinic, and starting fresh in Meriam Park gave us the opportunity to do just that.”

Although expanding clinical services to Chico and nearby communities was of utmost importance, it wasn’t the only one. “We also wanted to have control over our own surgical center,” Dr. Barthelow continued. “There are a lot of things most people don’t understand about how surgery centers operate or what their doctor’s choices are. When you operate in a surgery center, you’re forced to operate based on the decisions they make ahead of time, and unfortunately, oftentimes those decisions are made on what they can get most affordably. That was always a problem for me. In every procedure, there are a variety

of potential items that can be used—it doesn’t necessarily mean to use the most expensive, but there’s a huge issue in compromising quality for cost, especially when it comes to something as fragile as your eye. I believe there should be no compromise, and doctors should always do what’s best for the patient to the extent that it’s economically feasible. Having our own surgery center makes that possible.”

Beyond equipment and products used, Dr. Barthelow was also limited in an aspect of his practice that has always been front and center for him—providing free surgeries to those who didn’t have the means to afford them. As the de facto provider for the area’s Medicaid population, this was an ongoing struggle for years, with only two free surgeries being allowed per year at the old surgery center. “I was limited on the number of actual cases I could do,” Dr. Barthelow explained. “There were, and still are, a number of people who need surgery, and I couldn’t provide it due to the center’s limitations. As physicians, we have a responsibility to our community, and it’s what we should be able to do. I have a skill set, and I’ve always wanted a center to be able to care for those people who are normally left behind.”

To set the tone and further the point, his first case at his new surgery center will be a free cataract surgery. “It’s been said there’s no mission without margin,” Dr. Barthelow stated, “but my profit margins don’t need to come at the expense of caring for my community. If we all had that attitude, there wouldn’t be a need in the first place.”

Having done their best to work with what they had available, Drs. Barthelow and Rudick couldn’t be more excited to finally build exactly what they need at their new campus in Meriam Park, and when we say ‘campus,’ we mean it. Their new location will be home to a 10,000 square foot clinic, 8,500 square foot surgery center, 8,500 square foot administrative building, and ancillary offices. In total, the new buildout will span a massive 30,000 square feet, making it the largest eye care center in Northern California.

“Meriam Park was the perfect place for us to relocate,” Dr. Barthelow said. “Chico is growing, and Meriam Park is a great place to grow. There are a lot of new medical services going into the area, and I’ve always liked the aesthetics. Most importantly, it was the one location that allowed us to build our entire campus in one place. Patients will feel good about their visit, and our physicians will enjoy coming to work there. It’s a winwin.”

On top of being aesthetically pleasing, the new campus is the first Dr. Barthelow has not only had a hand in designing, but also been able to work at. Relying on lessons learned from 20 years of eyecare experience, no expense was spared in designing a space that is as effective and user-friendly as it is beautiful. From ample parking outside to the perfect workflow inside, each detail alleviates classic bottlenecks to physical service and minimizes the time it takes to complete an eye care visit.

“The facility will be larger than some universities in terms of space,” Dr. Barthelow raved. “Everything will be state of the art, and we’ll only have the top quality in everything we offer, including our own laser for cataract surgeries. We’ll also have a fully-expanded optical department that will deliver a spa-like experience with the top frame lines and focus on matching patients with the options that are most aesthetically complementary to their own face. It’s our goal to have it be the nicest optical and best selection in all of California, and once everyone sees it in person, I’m sure they’ll agree it is.”

As two guys who grew up in Chico and Paradise, we couldn’t be more thankful Drs. Barthelow and Rudick decided to come back after their schooling to serve their communities. The top of their classes at U.C. Davis and U.C. Berkeley respectively, they truly could have practiced anywhere; we’re lucky they chose Northern California. Having helped tens of thousands of people throughout the years, their continued commitment to the area has made it a better place to live. We can’t wait to see the new campus when the clinic opens this August and the surgery center when it’s unveiled in December.

Until then, if you’ve experienced changes in your vision, call North Valley Eye Care today and have it checked out. They can be reached by phone at (530) 891-1900 or online at www.NorthValleyEyeCare.com.