Supporting Our Troops: Donate and Save on Frames!

EDIT (11/11/23): This initiative has ended and was a huge success. We collected hundreds of items to go overseas just in time for the holidays. Thank you to our patients who stepped up in a huge way.

At Maltavista Optometry, we believe in honoring and supporting our brave men and women

in uniform.

We are excited to announce a special initiative in partnership with the Malta Veterans Appreciation Program, aimed at bringing comfort and essential items to the 642 Battalion stationed in Kuwait. Join us in making a difference and show your gratitude for their selfless service!

Donate for a Cause, Save on Frames: We invite you to participate in this noble cause by donating any of the following items during your next visit to our clinic:

Soap: A basic necessity for personal hygiene.

1. Hand sanitizer: Essential for keeping hands clean and germ-free.

2. Razors: To help them maintain a well-groomed appearance.

3. Toothbrushes and toothpaste: For maintaining oral health in challenging conditions.

4. Healthy snacks: Nutritious treats to provide them with energy and nourishment.

5. Electrolyte drink mixes: To help them stay hydrated in the desert heat.

6. Trail mix and nuts: A great source of protein and healthy fats.

7. Goodies (non-perishable, individually wrapped treats): A delightful surprise to boost their spirits.

8. Deodorant: A small comfort that goes a long way in maintaining freshness.

Your contribution matters! As a token of our appreciation for your support, we are pleased to offer you a 10% discount on any frame purchase when you donate any of the listed items. Not only will you be making a positive impact on the lives of our courageous troops, but you'll also enjoy savings on your eyewear needs.

Joining Forces for a Worthy Cause: Through our collaboration with the Malta Veterans Appreciation program, we ensure that your donations reach the 642 Battalion stationed in Kuwait. The program is dedicated to expressing gratitude and providing assistance to our veterans and active-duty military personnel. Together, we can make a significant difference in the lives of those who protect our nation.

How to Participate: Participating is easy! Simply bring your chosen donation items to your next appointment at Maltavista Optometry. Drop them off at our reception desk, and our dedicated team will ensure they are appropriately packaged and sent to the 642 Battalion.

Express Your Appreciation: Your generosity will bring comfort and support to those who are far from home, sacrificing their safety for our freedom. Let us unite as a community to show our troops that their service is valued and appreciated.

We extend our heartfelt thanks in advance for your contribution. Your donations of essential items will go a long way in providing much-needed comfort to our troops in Kuwait. Together, let's make a positive impact on the lives of those who protect our nation.

If you have any questions or need further information, please feel free to contact us at 518-450-1444 or info@maltavistaoptometry.com. Together, let's honor and support our troops!

Rethink your Vision Plan in 2023

As the year end approaches, it may be time for you to enroll in insurance benefits for your family’s medical, dental, and vision coverage for the upcoming year. We’d like you to know that we still participate in most major vision and medical plans and would be happy to continue to take care of your family whether you decide to continue your current plan or choose another that we participate in.

We would also like to bring to your attention a new option available at our practice that may be appealing to you instead of vision insurance- and that is our membership plan. The membership plans were constructed because of some major limitations we were finding with vision plans. Specifically, we feel the copays for lenses and lens add-ons are too high. As such, in order to get lenses of good quality, many of our patients still spend hundreds of dollars at check out for a pair of glasses even with insurance.

Other major limitations of vision plans are that they sometimes only cover an exam every 24 months, which leaves many patients lacking proper care. Also, vision plans usually do not cover both glasses and contact lenses in the same year, forcing a contact lens wearer to sometimes pay for one of these entirely out-of-pocket. Additionally, vision plans typically do not cover an OCT wellness scan, which is a 3D imaging procedure which helps to detect glaucoma, macular degeneration, and other eye diseases. We feel it is important to include the latest technology as part of an eye exam for everyone, however without insurance coverage it has been cost-prohibitive for many.

In some cases when our patients do not have vision plans, we are able to bill comprehensive eye exams to medical insurance, but this also can be troublesome as we commonly encounter high deductibles and frequent denials.

For your consideration, please see details of the “Maltavista Membership Plan” and the

“Maltavista Membership Plan + Contacts.”

Find your blind spot!

Did you know that you have a blind spot? I'll prove it to you.

Close your left eye and look at the plus sign above. Then slowly move slowly towards and away from your screen. At some point, when you are about 12 inches away (depending on the size of your screen that you're using), the black dot disappears. Your literally can't see a very small section of vision! Your brain just "fills in" the space with its surroundings- which in this case is the white background.

The blind spot is there because inside your eyeball, where the optic nerve sits, there are no photoreceptor cells (ie, rods and cones).

The retina is everywhere you see the orange color inside the eye in the photo above. The retina is neuro-sensory which means its part of the nervous system.

The optic nerve is where all of the neuro-sensory information from the retina gets collected and passed to the brain. The optic nerve begins in the back of the eye where you see the yellow circle.

The retina exists just about everywhere in the back of the eye, except for where the optic nerve is. So anytime an image gets focused on the back of the eye, that small piece of the picture that lands on your optic nerve is lost. Luckily, when we have both eyes open, the blind spot doesn't matter. Because what one eye DOESN'T see, the other eye DOES see! Our brain puts the images from both eyes together!