<![CDATA[ASPEN EYECARE - Blog]]>Sun, 21 Apr 2024 03:29:00 -0600Weebly<![CDATA[Post Evacuation Information]]>Mon, 02 Nov 2020 17:46:21 GMThttp://aspen-eyecare.com/blog/post-evacuation-informationWe are attempting to return to normal business hours and reschedule all appointments from the past weeks while we were evacuated.  Please note that with COVID precautions still in place, it may take longer to get appointments rescheduled, as we continue to keep everyone spaced out in our office.  We are experiencing some delays in receiving deliveries and will do our best to dispense contact lenses and eyewear as soon as we receive them.  Please call our office or you can reach Dr. Busche directly at 319-504-7314 if you have an ocular emergency or urgent matter.  Our current business hours are 9am-5pm Monday -Thursday.  We appreciate your patience and hope everyone is staying safe out there and look forward to seeing you again very soon!]]><![CDATA[Temporary closure]]>Mon, 26 Oct 2020 21:21:03 GMThttp://aspen-eyecare.com/blog/temporary-closureOur office will plan to be closed for the week of October 26th - 30th.  Our town remains under various levels of evacuation orders that are in place due to the wildfires that are near our community.  We will attempt to be in the office when possible and return calls as needed.  Our home remains under mandatory evacuation and we are not currently receiving regular shipments to the office.  We will attempt to reschedule appointments from this week in a timely manner and will also attempt to dispense contact lenses and eyewear on a case by case basis.  If you are experiencing an ocular emergency, please contact Dr. Busche directly by calling 319-504-7314.  We are so thankful to the firefighters and first responders and we hope that everyone can remain safe during these challenging times! ]]><![CDATA[One Year and One Day Later.....]]>Sun, 02 Aug 2020 21:07:03 GMThttp://aspen-eyecare.com/blog/one-year-and-one-day-laterToday is exactly one year and one day since we purchased Aspen Eyecare in Estes Park, Colorado.  We can’t help but reflect on all of the people that have supported us through this beautiful but challenging  year.  We have expanded our minds in ways that we never thought possible and are inspired by our surroundings and the many successes that keep us dreaming of bigger and better things for our family, business and this incredible community.
We started this morning off by eating cinnamon rolls (from Cinnamon’s Bakery – get them if you haven’t tried them already……yummy!) and enjoying coffee on our deck that overlooks the expanses of the Rocky Mountains.  It was a pleasantly cool morning and we were not tense or hurried one bit; just letting the possibilities of the remainder of the weekend take shape in front of us as we watched the occasional animal wonder through our yard.  This is a stark contrast to the obstacles that we were facing a little over a year ago.  It feels amazing to be at this point; knowing that the risk we took in selling a successful practice was the exact pivot we needed to improve and enrich our lives in ways that we didn’t even realize were possible at the time!
We have such gratitude to the patients and employees at our past eyecare practice – many of which remain dear friends.  We have longtime friends that have listened to countless hours of dreams, frustrations, ideas, disappointments and victories over the past year- we are sure that their ears are still hurting.  They have traveled with us, loved us like family, delivered tool chests, tools, provided endless feedback and now visit us in our new community to make us feel more at home.  Our family has also proved to be a great source of support during the past year.  The visits, phone conversations and help with our home have us feeling so very loved.  We have new friends in this beautiful community that were beyond gracious; opening their home to us for weeks on end with our two large furry pups, while waiting to move into our dream home.  This community has individuals that care enough to drive over and check on us when they cannot reach us by phone.  The type of people that not only do business with us but care about the state of our business and call just to make sure that we are going to survive this pandemic.  We are more than thrilled to report that we have also become debt free in the last year, running our business without debt gives us incredible freedom to look to help other local businesses and care for them – it’s just the Estes Park way of life! ……and we love it!
Our brains have been expanded on such amazing levels and we fear that we may not have the compacity to continue this crazy learning curve over the course of the next year.  We know SO much more about business, various wildlife, wood burning stoves, well water, working with your spouse, lens materials, vendors, shipping, contact lenses, billing, insurance, software, life coaches, coding, marketing, Covid, the strength of our relationships, frozen pipes, community, weeds, scheduling and mountain living than we ever thought possible.  With the foundation of all this new knowledge, we are looking forward to many exciting expansions in the coming year.  Maybe adding to our family (likely another furbaby….but who knows?!), we will definitely be adding to our business family as the current demand is just too much for Aaron and myself to handle on our own.  We have dreams of new frame lines, new technology and maybe even a new nonprofit venture in the works.  We look forward to adding sweat equity into our already cute cottage and sweating after work on countless hikes.   
This new practice adventure really has been the second-best decision that we have ever made – second only to us choosing each other!  We appreciate your love and support on this journey. We ask that you continue to dream big for your own lives and keep blessing us with your presence throughout our journey – we need it!  We Love it!
Much love and thanks,
Aaron and Amber
]]><![CDATA[Resuming Care]]>Wed, 06 May 2020 15:13:30 GMThttp://aspen-eyecare.com/blog/resuming-careWe are thrilled to once again be scheduling patients for routine eye exams, fitting of contact lenses, selection of eyewear along with adjustments and repairs of your eyewear.  During this phase of reopening we are taking extra steps to ensure the safety of our guests.
Due to the cozy nature of our building and our priority to keep everyone at a safe distance, we ask that all visits to our office be made by appointment only - we are not accepting walk-ins at this time. Set appointments allows us to time out our services to provide thorough cleaning of all spaces and eyewear in-between appointments.  We have installed new UV and ultrasonic cleaning stations to help us with safe and efficient eyewear sanitization. 
We continue to receive new and exciting shipments of eyewear on a weekly basis and are doing our best to provide a safe atmosphere to choose the eyewear that best compliments the facemasks of today!
Please follow the CDC guidelines by wearing a mask into our office and give others the recommended 6 feet of distance.  We ask that everyone be kind and patient as we adjust to this “new normal” and help us continue to look for ways to improve our services and our community.  Please feel free to leave us comments if you have ideas on how we can improve our process or lend a hand to someone in the Estes Valley.  We look forward to seeing you again real soon!

]]><![CDATA[Our office's response to the corona Virus]]>Thu, 19 Mar 2020 16:32:36 GMThttp://aspen-eyecare.com/blog/our-offices-response-to-the-corona-virus​In doing our part to prevent the spread of the Corona Virus we will be seeing only emergency or urgent matters in our office until further notice. 
All visits will be by appointment only to eliminate patients being in contact with other patients and allow disinfection of the office between appointments. 
If you are experiencing an ocular emergency -please call Dr. Busche at 319-504-7314. 
For all urgent but non emergency matters, please leave us a message at 586-4418 – we will be checking and returning messages on this line on a 24 hour basis. 
We will attempt to dispense eyewear and contact lenses ASAP on a case by case basis once they arrive. 
We apologize for any inconvenience and hope that you and our surrounding community can stay healthy and safe during this time.
We Sincerely Appreciate Your Support,
Aaron & Amber]]><![CDATA[SIGNS, SIGNAGE AND SIGNING]]>Thu, 18 Jul 2019 23:34:11 GMThttp://aspen-eyecare.com/blog/signs-signage-and-signingThis has been a busy week!  A good busy week!  We are picking up on some strong SIGNS that Estes Park is exactly where we need to be.  We love the good food on patios, the good people, the weather is beautiful and the scenery never gets old!  It feels like home and vacation all in the same place!
We met with our friend to finalize details of our SIGNAGE!  We can’t wait to transform our optical space and put our mark on eyecare in Estes Park.  It is amazing when people can read your mind and put your thoughts and ideas on paper before you even describe every detail.  We are so thankful to our supportive family and knowledgeable friends that are helping us make decisions and guiding us on this adventure!  We really could not make this happen without the contribution of our village. 
This past Wednesday was document SIGNING day!  This makes our ownership of Aspen Eyecare official!  We own it!  Yay!  It seems that we have worked so hard on the business and logistics of every detail and we are finally getting to the final stages and the fun details to make this dream come true.  Two weeks and counting until we get busy doing what we love most.  Simply.  Elevating.  Vision. – in Estes Park! 
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]]><![CDATA[Free Solo-ing]]>Tue, 02 Jul 2019 00:09:51 GMThttp://aspen-eyecare.com/blog/free-solo-ing"Free Solo" is a term that I have borrowed from the recent documentary about Alex Honnold, a professional climber who scaled the vertical rock formation known as El Capitan without any ropes.  I feel that the term "Free Solo" fits my current situation so perfectly because I am becoming "Free" through the recent sale of my ownership in See Life(a three doctor practice in Greeley, CO)to pursue a "Solo" adventure.  All success and failures now fall on my shoulders, as I am leaving the safety net of so many amazing staff and patients to pursue an opportunity that will help me grow personally and professionally.  I have decided to "Free Solo", and while there are challenges to this form of practice, those challenges are greatly offset by the joy it brings  to be able to practice my profession to the fullest degree and give personalized care to help patients achieve wellness without the corporate pressures that arise at many larger offices.  

As for my new practice, it is located in the dream town of Estes Park, and it has a charming foundation that is already well established by the former owners.  My husband and I had an instant connection with them because they are also Iowa transplants, just like us!  Dr. Parker and myself even received our doctorate from the very same optometry school.  

During the entire month of July my husband and I will be dedicated to observation around the office and expanding our knowledge of eyecare more than we ever thought possible.  We are excited to carry on the tradition of this office and make our predecessors proud of our hard work.  We look forward to transforming this beautiful space into a location that is known for high quality eye care and the best place to receive guidance when it comes to your vision.  We hope you stop by and say "hello" and extend us some grace while we renovate and get settled in.  This is an exciting opportunity for us and I give full credit to all the patients, doctor mentors, friends, family and dear technicians that have allowed me the confidence to "Free Solo".  Cheers!

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