GRAVETTE -- A new eye clinic opened Tuesday, May 5, in Gravette and area residents were happy to see an attractive building which has sat empty several years occupied with a going business. The building was constructed in 2008 but the prospective occupant never moved in.
The Roberts-Philpott Eye Associates clinic is a branch of an eye clinic which has been operating in Siloam Springs since 1974. The clinic there had several patients from the northwest corner of the county so its optometrists decided to expand their practice and open an office in this area to better accommodate those patients.
The clinic, which is located at 1008 First Avenue, S.E., just north of the Mid-Continent Concrete plant, will be open Tuesday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Friday from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. It will offer care for those with glaucoma and macular degeneration, medical exams and eye exams, pre-op care and eyeglass sales and adjustment. Patients needing cataract surgery or lasik surgery will be given referrals to another location for the actual surgery, but discussion is ongoing with Ozarks Community Hospital in Gravette about possibly doing cataract surgery at OCH in the future.
Four optometrists are associated with Roberts-Philpott. They will rotate trips to Gravette, and one of the four will be in the office at Gravette every day. Reta Wilkins, of Decatur, will be office manager of the clinic. She is also office manager at Siloam Springs and has been with the clinic for 17 years.
Dr. Bob Roberts is an Arkansas native. He attended Ozark Adventist Academy in Gentry, where he graduated in 1967. He continued his education at Union College in Lincoln, Neb., from 1967 to 1970 and graduated from Southern College of Optometry in 1974. After graduation, he moved to Siloam Springs with his wife Dee and their two children. He established Roberts Eye Clinic in the summer of 1974.
Dr. Greg Philpott grew up on a small farm near Gentry and graduated from Gentry High School in 1989. He graduated from the University of Central Arkansas with a bachelor of science degree in 1994 and from Northeastern State University Oklahoma College of Optometry in 1999, when he started work at Roberts-Philpott Eye Associates. He has been married to his high school sweetheart since 2001 and has two children, Ellie, 2, and Tate, 1. He says, "I love to hunt, fish, spend time on the farm and play with my babies."
Dr. Leah Cate grew up in Fayetteville and graduated from there in 2001. She attended the University of Arkansas and graduated with a degree in biology. Her passion for optometry grew as she became an optometric technician while in college. She continued her education at the Illinois College of Optometry in Chicago, where she graduated in 2009. After graduation, she worked at Boozman-Hof Eye Clinic until she joined Roberts-Philpott Eye Associates in 2013. She is married to Brandon Cate of Prairie Grove and they will celebrate their 10th anniversary in July. They have a son, Carter, who was born in 2012, and a daughter, Emery, who was born in 2014. The family enjoys being outdoors, cheering on the Razorbacks and "a lot of laughter."
Jordan Netzel, of Siloam Springs, will be joining the clinic after his graduation this spring. He grew up in Siloam Springs and attended Ozark Adventist Academy through high school. He earned his bachelor's degree in biology at Southern Adventist University near Chattanooga, Tenn., and is a member of the 2015 graduating class of Southern College of Optometry in Memphis, Tenn. He says he and his wife Michelle are excited to call Siloam Springs home again.
Reta Wilkins, office manager at Roberts-Philpott since 1998, grew up in Colcord, Okla., and graduated from Colcord High School. She married Bryan Wilkins and moved to Gravette, where she lived until they bought a farm in Decatur in 1992. They have two grown sons, Brett and Blake. Wilkins had worked previously at Gravette High School and Gravette Shelling Company and said, "I am so excited to get to manage two clinics and so happy to be back in the Gravette community. Bryan and I enjoy family and friends. Our pride and joy is time with Brett and Blake."
Roberts-Philpott Eye Associates is planning a grand opening, ribbon-cutting and open house in the future. In the meantime, for more information or to make an appointment, call the clinic at 479-323-7005.
General News on 05/06/2015