Lehigh Valley Eye Care Associates, located at 2030 W. Tilghman St., Allentown, is home to a welcoming staff of optometry professionals dedicated to ensuring the comfort and satisfaction of every patient who comes to them in need. If you are from the area, you may see welcoming faces in the office, such as Whitehall High School’s Class of 2007 graduate Dr. Nicholas Gidosh, one of the licensed optometrists for Lehigh Valley Eye Care Associates.

Gidosh, who went on to undergrad at Muhlenberg College, always found himself entranced by science.

“Throughout high school, I really had an interest in science classes, particularly because of the possibilities of doing research and learning new things to share with others,” Gidosh said. “My favorite class was Patricia Fried’s advanced chemistry course, which is what led me into that major at Muhlenberg.”

Gidosh wanted a career that could impact people’s lives on a daily basis using the scientific knowledge he had gained throughout the years. He decided to work part time as an emergency room technician for Sacred Heart Hospital while attending classes at Muhlenberg. There he received a chance to see what it was like to work with patients on a day-to-day basis.

After a discussion with one of his chemistry professors, Dr. Marsha Baar, Gidosh decided optometry may be the career path he was looking for.

“I had worn glasses since the fifth grade, (but) I didn’t really know all that went into being an optometrist. As I learned more about the profession, I discovered that it was a perfect fit for me. It has some of the best flexibility for health care providers as we can work in a variety of settings including hospitals, academic institutions and private practices,” Gidosh said.

After completing his residency, Gidosh began working at Lehigh Valley Eye Care Associates in July of this year.

“My residency focused on corneal diseases and fitting specialty contact lenses - topics I became especially passionate about during my four years of graduate training at the Pennsylvania College of Optometry. After earning my doctorate, I traveled to Michigan to train with leaders and educators in this particular field. During this time, I provided care for patients at the university’s clinic, educated students while doing so and served as a co-investigator for several research projects. The efforts of these studies led to posters presented at national meetings, one of which won second place in its category at the Global Specialty Lens Symposium in Las Vegas. It reminded me of my days in the science fairs years ago.” Gidosh joked.

“The topic of that project and what I have become most passionate about in my line of work is orthokeratology - or corneal reshaping. This process utilizes specially designed molds, similar to a contact lens, which are worn at nighttime. The device then reshapes the patient’s cornea while they sleep. When they wake, they remove the mold and have corrected vision throughout the day without glasses or contacts. I compare it to the way a retainer straightens one’s teeth. It is my hope to continue researching this area to add to the scientific knowledge surrounding it, which may ultimately result in better patient outcomes,” Gidosh said.

With the hustle and bustle of people’s daily lives, Gidosh took notice that maybe it would be a good idea to open up shop Saturdays to give people more flexibility in dealing with their vision problems.

“Some of these special cases require more time, so weekends have been helpful in accommodating those needs. I also have training in providing pediatric eye care, so Saturdays have been helpful in meeting the needs of families as well,” Gidosh said. “My goal is to provide my patients with the best care that I can, so they can have the best outcomes. I also try to be practical to meet their needs. I really do care.”

Gidosh encourages anyone who has tried contact lenses but has struggled in the past to come in and see the specialists at Lehigh Valley Eye Care Associates.

“Contacts aren’t the same as they were 10 years ago, let alone 20 years ago! The scientific information around them is ever changing as well. I hope to create a culture within the office of patients who care about their ocular health as much as I do,” Gidosh said. “To achieve this, I do the absolute best I can to narrate each finding of the exam to the patient as well as explain what it means and what we need to do about it.

“It gives me great pride to hear a patient say, ‘That was the most thorough exam I’ve ever had!’ And so I don’t conclude the exam until each of their questions has been answered fully,” he said.

Gidosh will be traveling to Las Vegas once more this January for the annual Global Specialty Lens Symposium meeting to present another poster. This poster will revolve around the use of computer software technology for the design of orthokeratology lenses.

“The contact lens arena is one of vast technology and is constantly moving forward. By using advanced instruments to measure the corneal surface and a computer program, we hope to more accurately reshape patients’ corneas for better visual outcomes,” Gidosh said.