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Address:
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Downtown
999 18th St.
Suite 146
Denver, CO 80202
Phone: 303.298.9410

Aurora
1550 S. Potomac St.
Suite 155
Aurora, CO 80012
Phone: 303.369.1020

Highlands Ranch
200 W. County Line Rd.
Suite 150
Highlands Ranch, CO 80129
Phone: 303.794.2433

Lakewood
2766 South Wadsworth Blvd.
Lakewood, CO 80227
Phone: 303.935.2020

Vision Care Specialists
Care Group Line:
303.991.9600

Dr. Rheda Gerlock

Dr. Gerlock is a native of Lamar, Colorado. She attended Colorado State University for undergraduate studies and completed her professional studies at the Southern California College of Optometry. She interned at the Whiteriver Indian Hospital in Whiteriver, AZ and at the VA Hospital in Brentwood, California. Postgraduate studies include advanced ocular therapeutics, cataract, glaucoma and refractive surgery management. Her honors include Who's Who of American Women, Optometric Association Young Optometrist and Denver's Women Business Leaders. Dr. Gerlock has been in private practice since 1984 with special interest in family and children's vision care; contact lenses and laser vision correction. She is married and has a daughter.

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Dr. Steven Glick

Dr. Glick is a native of Denver, Colorado. He performed his undergraduate studies at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and completed his professional studies at Pacific University, College of Optometry.

Postgraduate studies include advanced ocular therapeutic courses. He interned at the Hopi Indian Reservation Hospital in Keams Canyon, Arizona and has served on the Colorado Optometric Association Board of Trustees and State Chairman of the AOA - PAC. Dr. Glick has been in private practice since 1980 with special interests in contact lenses and family vision care.

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Dr. Stephen Gorden

Dr. Gorden is a native of Denver, Colorado. He received his undergraduate degree at the University of Colorado and completed his professional studies at Illinois College of Optometry. He is a charter member of the American Optometric Contact Lens Section. He serves as a volunteer at the Colorado Optometric Center working with the interns. He is the President of the Nielsen Foundation, which honors speakers at the Colorado Optometric Association's summer meeting. Before joining Vision Care Specialists, P.C., he had been in the same location since 1964.

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Dr. Don Hood (Retired)

Dr. Hood is a native of Vancouver, Washington. He performed his undergraduate studies in Oregon at Pacific University and completed his professional studies at Pacific University College of Optometry in 1968. He served in the U.S. Army from 1968 to 1972; and, during the last two years, served as the Chief of Eye Services in Bangkok, Thailand. Dr. Hood holds the honor to have been the US Army's first parachute qualified combat ready optometrist in the 82nd Airborne Division at Ft. Bragg, NC. He has served as the Chief of Optometry Section, 5502 U.S. Army Reserve Unit at the Fitzsimons Army Medical Center in Aurora. Every year, Dr. Hood travels to Thailand to assist in Cambodian refugee camps with eye care and to teach in the optometry school.

Dr. Hood's postgraduate studies include advanced ocular therapeutics and laser vision correction courses. His is a frequent lecturer on contact lenses & solutions and quality improvement programs in health insurance. Dr. Hood has been in private practice in Aurora since 1972 with special interests in contact lenses and family vision care.

Dr. Hood founded Vision Care Specialists in 1974 and even though he no longer sees patients, he continues to share his knowledge and expertise in both the clinical and administrative aspects of the practice.

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Dr. Mark Jaehning

Dr Jaehning is a native of  Wahpeton, North Dakota. He performed his undergraduate studies and holds bachelor degrees from the University of North Dakota and Pacific University. He completed his professional studies at Pacific University in 1979 and began private practice that year in Denver.

Postgraduate studies include advanced ocular therapeutic management, LASIK and refractive surgery care, as well as cataract, glaucoma and dry eye management. His special interests lie in family vision care and contact lenses. He is a member of both the American and Colorado Optometric Associations.

Dr. Jaehning's hobbies include fly fishing, skiing, golf ,tennis, and running. He is fortunate to have one son, Benjamin.

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Dr. Gregory Kouyoumdjian

Dr. Kouyoumdjian, a consultant for Vision Care Specialists, specializes in corneal and refractive surgery, general ophthalmology and cataract surgery.

Dr. K (as we call him) is a native of Ogdensburg, New York and received his undergraduate degree in Biology at Johns Hopkins University. He graduated from New York University School of Medicine with Honors and interned at Stony Brook Medical Center. Dr. Kouyoumdjian completed his Ophthalmology Residency at the University of Colorado Medical Center, and trained an additional year at CU Medical for a Fellowship in Cornea and Refractive Surgery. He is a Diplomat of the American Board of Ophthalmology.

Several of Dr. Kouyoumdjian's articles have been published in prominent ophthalmic journals and he has presented numerous papers at the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

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Dr. Ellen Petrilla

Dr. Ellen Petrilla graduated from Ohio University with undergraduate degrees in psychology and biology. She then went onto pursue her optometry degree at the University of Houston.

During optometry school, Dr. Petrilla worked for a neuro-ophthalmology practice, where she assisted in the diagnosis and treatment of many neuropathies, such as optic neuritis and temporal arteritis. Her patient care experiences at this neuro-ophthalmology clinic led to an article published in the Review of Optometry about Horner’s syndrome.

In addition, Dr. Petrilla did an internship at Queen Victoria Hospital in England. During her rotation, she assisted in the pre and postoperative care of corneal transplant patients, and had the opportunity to treat other corneal anomalies. Her training in England allowed her a chance to travel to different countries, such as France, Holland, Spain, and Ireland.

Besides traveling, some of Dr. Petrilla’s other hobbies and interests include hiking, skiing, painting, and art collecting.

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Dr. Kenneth Ridder

Dr. Ridder was born and raised in Burlington, Colorado. He received his undergraduate degree in Biology at the University of Colorado, Boulder and completed his doctoral studies, with distinction, at Pacific University College of Optometry. He interned at Fitzsimons Army Medical Center in Aurora. His honors include receiving the Bausch and Lomb Excellence in Academic Achievement Award and the VSP Excellence in Primary Care Skills Achievement Award. Dr. Ridder has been in private practice since 1992. His special interests include LASIK and refractive surgery; nutrition related eye disease; complex contact lens fittings and above all, patient education. Postgraduate studies include advanced ocular therapeutics, advanced glaucoma treatment and LASIK co-management.

Dr. Ridder and his wife Chris enjoy biking and traveling with their twin boys. In his spare time, he also enjoys gardening and painting.

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Dr. Rex Roberson

Dr. Roberson grew up in the Black Forest area in Colorado. He graduated first in his major with a B.S. in Natural Sciences, Summa Cum Laude, from the Indiana University of Pennsylvania. He received his doctorate, Summa Cum Laude qualified, from the Southern California College of Optometry. Postgraduate studies include further certification on cataracts, glaucoma, LASIK and other refractive surgeries, and advanced ocular therapeutic management. His honors include receiving the Cooper Vision and AO Foundation Awards for excellence in contact lenses and clinical research. He has been a trustee and a past and present chairman of various committees in the Colorado Optometric Association.

He is a primary research investigator with special interests in LASIK and refractive surgery, complex contact lens fittings, family vision, ocular diseases, dry eye therapy, nutrition, and low vision.

Dr. Roberson enjoys music, playing guitar and piano; and pursues outdoor activities such as backpacking and fishing. He also enjoys playing and coaching sports; including soccer, volleyball, baseball, and skiing. Dr. Roberson has been in practice in Colorado since 1984. He is the father of two wonderful boys, Peyton and Evan.

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Dr. Roger Taylor

Dr. Taylor is a native of Shenandoah, Iowa. He performed his undergraduate studies at the University of Iowa and completed his professional studies at the Pacific University College of Optometry after serving in the U.S. Army for three years. Postgraduate studies include advanced ocular therapeutic courses and refractive surgery co-management. From 1980 to 1986, he served as the Director of Low Vision Services at the Colorado Optometric Center. His honors include being recognized for best Orthokeratology Research by the International Orthokeratology section of the Nation Eye Research Foundation. Dr. Taylor has been in private practice since 1979 with special interests in family vision care, contact lenses - especially bifocal contacts - and refractive surgery. His hobbies are tennis, backpacking, cross-country skiing and photography.

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Dr. Benjamin Warta

Dr. Warta was born and raised near Abilene, Kansas. He completed his bachelor's degree in Biology and Life Sciences at Kansas State University, and received his Optometric Physician doctorate degree from Northeastern State University College of Optometry in Oklahoma. Dr. Warta was a member of the honor society Beta Sigma Kappa while completing his education and received the Phieffer Award as the top graduating clinician.

Dr. Warta also received honors for excellent clinical skill in contact lenses fitting and for research and knowledge in the area of children's vision while owning his own practice in Vail, Colorado.

It is important to Dr. Warta that he gets to know each patient. This knowledge helps Dr. Warta better understand each individual's interests and vision requirements, so he can educate his patients about advancements in eye care. Dr. Warta's expertise includes children's vision; specialty contact lens fitting; LASIK and refractive therapies; eye disease; dry eye therapy and sports vision.

Dr. Warta and his wife Erin enjoy traveling, skiing, running, and spending time with their son Landon.

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Dr. Jason Witters

Dr. Witters is a native of Ohio. He graduated from Ohio State University College of Optometry in 1982. After completing a contact lens residency at the University of Alabama School of Optometry in 1983, he moved to Littleton, Colorado. His postgraduate studies include advanced ocular therapeutics, cataract, glaucoma and refractive surgery management.

Since 1983, Dr. Witters has been in private practice specializing in contact lenses and laser vision correction. He is a member of the American Optometric Association and the Colorado Optometric Association.

At the age of eight, Dr. Witters decided to be an eye doctor because of the impact his first pair of glasses had on his life. He recently chose to have laser vision correction performed on his own eyes and is very pleased with the outcome.

Dr. Witters is married and has three children. In his leisure time, he enjoys spending time with his family - boating, biking and coaching his son's soccer team.

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Sarah E. Thompson, O.D.

Dr. Thompson grew up in Metro-Chicago. She received her undergraduate degree from Purdue University and went on to fulfill her professional degree at Indiana University School of Optometry. She then moved to Denver in June 2005 to begin her optometric career.

Dr. Thompson appreciates working in a private practice setting where she can focus on patient education and quality eye care. She is trained to perform comprehensive eye examinations, co-manage cataract and laser surgeries, diagnose and manage ocular diseases, fit a variety of contact lenses, perform pediatric examinations, and treat dry or red eyes.

In her spare time, Dr. Thompson enjoys traveling up to the mountains for some fresh air, hiking, and snowboarding.

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