Triad Eye Institute acquires Vold Vision’s NWA operations, 2 clinics

Tulsa-based Triad Eye Institute recently acquired the Northwest Arkansas operations of Vold Vision, purchased its Fayetteville clinic for $12.5 million and leased another in Bentonville. Dr. Steven Vold of Vold Vision moved his practice to Florida.

Triad Eye Institute, a surgical and specialty eye care provider, bought the clinic at 2783 N. Shiloh Drive in Fayetteville. The company is also leasing a former Vold Vision clinic at 1102 N.W. Lowes Ave. in Bentonville. These are Triad Eye Institute’s first Arkansas clinics, and both are open and taking appointments.

Andrew Harris, spokesman for Triad Eye Institute, said the company acquired the area business operations, the building and staff of Vold Vision. However, “we are approaching this as a new market altogether,” he said. “We put a lot of importance in the relationships we forge with our partner optometrists in the market. It’s a collaborative effort, and we want to come in fresh.”

Harris said Dr. Vold is still seeing patients here part-time through November. Triad Eye Institute has four optometrists in Northwest Arkansas and plans to have an ophthalmologist in place by the time Dr. Vold stops seeing patients here. Triad Eye Institute has 40 Arkansas employees.

“It’s been a great opportunity for us to extend the level of world-class care that we have provided to the Tulsa and northeast Oklahoma region for more than 30 years…to bring that to Northwest Arkansas,” Harris said. “A lot of the region’s optometrists are already very familiar with us. Our physician liaison team has relationships with a lot of the optometrists in the area.”

Harris said the company is “no stranger to Northwest Arkansas” as it’s seen many area patients at its Grove, Okla., clinic, which opened several years ago.

“We have a lot of relationship-building to do in the area and look forward to working with area optometrists to improve access to care, the world-class specialty and surgical care that we provide,” he said. “The service offerings that Vold provided, which were already top-notch, are going to remain.”

Harris stressed the importance of access to care and noted that Triad Eye Institute is a regional referral center.

“That is, we treat a lot of disorders and conditions that optometrists may not be able to treat or can’t treat. So, we rely heavily on our optometrist partners throughout the community to send patients our way so that those patients can stay here in the community, and they don’t have to travel a great distance to get the care that they need.”

He said the transition from Vold Vision to Triad Eye Institute will be seamless from a patient-care standpoint. He said the company plans to reach out to people in eastern Northwest Arkansas to inform them about the services it provides. The company has no immediate plans to add additional locations in Arkansas, but this could change depending on patient needs.

Vold Vision Ventures LLC, led by Dr. Vold, sold the 24,108-square-foot Fayetteville clinic on 1.66 acres. TitleTech of Arkansas LLC in Rogers was the title agent. Vold Vision Ventures acquired the former Orthopedic Institute building in November 2011 for $2.4 million. The seller was REO Holdings II LLC, led by Chris Elkins. The two-story building was built in 2007.

Founded in 1986, Triad Eye Institute has 12 locations and offers laser vision correction, cataract removal and the treatment of ocular disease. The company’s main clinic is at 6140 S. Memorial Drive in Tulsa. Excluding the Northwest Arkansas locations, its clinics are located throughout eastern Oklahoma. Dr. Ryan Conley is the principal of Triad Eye Institute, a physician-owned company with 280 employees.