Eye clinic opens in Priest River
(Photo by MARY MALONE) Business manager Jen Heller, left, and doctor of optometry Amber Prins, right, stand in front of the recently remodeled building that now serves as Priest River Eye Care, which opened June 11.
PRIEST RIVER — While the building at 6132 Highway 2 has been many things over the years, the business now residing there is the first of its kind for Priest River.
“There has never been an eye clinic in Priest River,” said Amber Prins, O.D., of Priest River Eye Care, which opened just over a month ago.
The building was remodeled over the course of three to four months, with the clinic officially opening its doors on June 11. The blue exterior, offset by yellow trim and a yellow porch swing, marks Priest River Eye Care as one of three North Idaho vision centers founded by Dr. Nate Harrell.
Harrell opened his first practice, Pend Oreille Vision Care, in Sandpoint in 2010. Business manager Jen Heller said it a few years later, as people were driving from Boundary County to be seen, they opened a second office — Bonners Ferry Eye Care.
“We started noticing the same thing with Priest River, so we’ve been playing around with the idea of it for last three or four years,” Heller said of opening a Priest River branch. “Then when Amber showed up and said, ‘Hey I’m graduating’ … it was really good timing.”
A member of the Trost family, Prins grew up in Priest River. She attended the University of Idaho where she met her husband, Greg Prins, their freshman year. Then they both went off to Arizona where she attended optometry school and her husband went to dental school at Midwestern University. They spent a few years in the desert before heading back to North Idaho.
“My whole family lives here, so I just really wanted to come back to this area,” Amber Prins said. “I really love all the outdoor activities here.”
Prins said she enjoys working in the Priest River office because she sees many people that she knows.
“It’s been really nice to care for people in my own community,” she said, adding that, so far, business is good. “It’s busy on the Mondays that I am here … It’s picking up pretty quickly.”
Prins works at all three clinics, so while the Priest River office is open five days a week, she currently comes in one day a week for scheduled appointments with patients. With business picking up, Heller said they may bump it up to two patient days soon.
Priest River Eye Care accepts all major forms of medical insurance, as well as Idaho Medicaid. The office is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Thursday, and from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Friday. Call for appointments at 208-448-0144.
Mary Malone can be reached by email at mmalone@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow her on Twitter @MaryDailyBee.