Davis-Duehr Dean – Platteville to Become The Eye Center at Southwest Health

[PLATTEVILLE, WI]  —- After extensive discussions and a thorough evaluation, Southwest Health has agreed to purchase the Davis Duehr Dean Eye Care clinic, located on the hospital campus at 1450 Eastside Road in Platteville. The clinic and its providers are known for delivering a broad range of quality eye care options, glasses and contact lenses, and the clinic’s patients can expect the same high level experience when the transition is complete June 29.

The name will change to the Eye Center at Southwest Health, and all patients currently using the Davis Duehr Dean Eye Care Clinic in Platteville will be able to continue their eye care at the same location after the transition. In fact, the move will effectively expand local access to expert local eye care because The Eye Center at Southwest Health will accept insurance coverage from more carriers.

“These types of changes benefit consumers and providers alike, and they’re commonplace in today’s health care marketplace,” says Southwest Health CEO Dan Rohrbach. “Southwest Health is a modern health system, and a great hospital happens to be part of that system. But, it’s not the only part. We now offer primary care clinics in Platteville and Cuba City, Epione Pavilion in Cuba City, mental health services, and soon our own eye center. We come to work every morning on behalf of the people of southwest Wisconsin, and it is both our privilege and pleasure to provide excellent care to our communities.”

Transferring ownership of the Eye Center to local control, according to Rohrbach, helps proactively position Southwest Health and our medical providers to continue growing and positively impacting area communities. Local changes like these, in fact, reflect national trends. According to the American Hospital Association, the number of physicians directly employed by hospitals increased 45 percent from 2000 to 2010. About half of all U.S. physicians are now employed by hospitals, and this trend is expected to continue as the U.S. healthcare system changes.

“We value the quality and the many years of service Davis Duehr Dean has provided our area,” says Rohrbach. “We will continue to work with them to ensure our patients have access to specialty eye services.”

“At the same time, we know that when we partner more closely with our local providers, our patients benefit. Working on the same team means we can better coordinate services, and that means better care for our patients.” Rohrbach says direct employment of providers also helps control costs. In addition to being able to better negotiate with insurance companies, closer partnerships allow hospitals and doctors to be more responsive to patient needs and to better allocate resources.

The current providers, optometrist Nicole Klein, OD, and ophthalmologist Mary Jo Oyen, MD, will remain at the Eye Center to serve all patients’ eye care needs.

Southwest Health is the region’s second largest employer with more than 450 full-time and part-time staff. Headquartered in Platteville, the growing health system has added many high quality jobs in recent years, adding greatly to both the local economy and to the quality of life for many individual families.

Southwest Health is the region’s premiere not-for-profit health system, providing a wide range of medical, surgical, and other high quality health services on three campuses. Their hospital campus with several clinics is located at 1400 East Side Road in Platteville. They also operate Epione Pavilion in Cuba City and Southwest Behavioral Services on North Elm Street in Platteville.