Eye doctors on wheels gain LI customers

Last week Jacqueline Rehak left her desk at Margolin, Winer & Evens Llp in Garden City for an eye exam and fitting for new glasses. She was back in her cubicle 30 minutes later.

That was because the exam was performed in a fully equipped RV operated by Mobile Eye Doctors, parked outside the accounting firm's front door.

"It was so convenient," said Rehak, a tax reviewer. "I just walked outside, walked in, got lenses and went back up."

Launched last October, this eye-doctors-on-wheels service is designed to bring eye care to busy people, "running, running, running," who also spend much of the day working on computers and squinting at handheld devices, said Jay Brandstein, an optician and principal at Central Nassau Optical, based in Levittown.

Since creating their "rolling optometrist office," Brandstein and his two partners have been visiting workplaces and senior centers, an average of one a week, but as word gets out, that's on the rise. So far he's been marketing the service himself, contacting employers and recently exhibiting at a human resources conference.

This is just one example of the on-site services, "popular in this time-ravaged age," that employers offer through vendors, said Kathie Lingle, executive director of Alliance for Work-Life Progress at WorldatWork, an Arizona-based compensation and benefits association. There's usually no cost to the employer. Employees pick up the tab, often at a discount. Such bargains and convenience can be a morale booster in tough times and a recruiting draw when hiring picks up, she said.

Though Lingle said this is the first she's heard of on-site eye care, she points to other mobile services such as mammograms, dry cleaning, massage, hair care, car repair, even cupcake delivery.

Robert Micera, director of human resources at Margolin, said that offering the Mobile Eye Doctors services was "a no brainer." Besides the discounts and convenience, employees' insurance covered much of the cost.

Micera told of at least two employees, having gone three or more years with no eye checkups, who made appointments when the RV made its first visit about six months ago.

"Demand is through the roof," said Brandstein, noting that clients include the Sheraton Long Island Hotel in Hauppauge; Hirsch International, also in Hauppauge, and USI Insurance Services, Woodbury.

As for Rehak, 27, of Oceanside, she'll be picking up her new glasses in the coming days when Mobile Eye Doctors returns for the drop-off visit. The service was good timing, she said, in the wake of the long work hours of a busy tax season. Besides the convenience, she said, "I came out satisfied and with a good price."