As the Office and Optical Manager at Ketchum Health Los Angeles, Yolanda Moreno gets ample opportunity to be reminded of why she became an optician in the first place. The LA location deals a lot with the homeless or otherwise underserved populations and being able to witness how happy and grateful people are when they finally receive a pair of much-needed glasses is very rewarding to Yolanda. So are the children. “We have a lot of children who come in with prescriptions from Children’s Hospital, and the expression on their faces when they put on that pair of glasses for the first time is priceless,” she says.
Even though these days Yolanda spends a good deal of her time managing the myriad issues that come up while running an office, she remains close to those priceless moments through the students. “I enjoy working with students so much,” she says. “Showing them the ropes in optical care, adjusting and selecting frames and just teaching and sharing my experiences. Working with future doctors is so rewarding.” MBKU students who rotate through are also grateful for the experience, as there is ample opportunity in LA to treat vision concerns that, up to that point, they may have only seen in their textbooks.
As far as Yolanda is concerned, each of them — her, her staff, the optometrists and the students — all thrive best when they work as a team. “Everyone is important, no matter what role. The success of this clinic is not just one person; it’s a team giving excellent care to all its patients.”