Jennifer L. Planitz, O.D.
Dr. Jennifer Planitz is a board certified Optometric Physician. She is a graduate of the Ohio State University College of Optometry, with residency training in ocular disease and pathology through the University of Houston. Dr. Planitz served as the first female president of the New Mexico Optometric Association. She has also been a clinical examiner for the state board, and has chaired the See to Learn, Healthy Eyes Healthy People, and InfantSEE task forces. Dr. Planitz is a Vision Source administrator for the state of New Mexico. She has received the Optometrist of the Year award, the Optometry in Action award, as well as the Vision Source New Administrator of the Year award. Dr. Planitz was recently named one of the "Top 50 Women in Optical" by Vision Monday Magazine.
Dr. Planitz lectures nation wide on such topics as practice management, computer software systems, and managed care. In her spare time Dr. Planitz enjoys Jazzercise, dog walking, and spending time with her two teenage children. |
Craig F. Clatanoff, O.D.
Dr. Craig Clatanoff is a board certified Optometric Physician. He is a graduate of the Ohio State University College of Optometry. Dr. Clatanoff is a past president of the New Mexico Optometric Association, and a recipient of the Optometrist of the Year Award. Dr. Clatanoff is an active member of the Rotary Club of Rio Rancho. He enjoys golf, softball, and cycling in his spare time.
Both Doctors embrace the Optometry Giving Sight Program, a charitable organization dedicated to the prevention of blindness due to uncorrected refractive error world wide. Both Doctors ultimately enjoy spending time with their two children the most. Dr. Clatanoff discovered their son suffered from amblyopia, or "lazy eye", at age 3. This is why both doctors feel it is so important for every child to receive a thorough eye examination by age 3, or sooner if parents perceive there to be a visual or learning problem. Most children suffering from lazy eye will show no visual symptoms, as the "good eye" tends to take over, leaving the vision in the "bad eye" undeveloped. When this occurs, the child has a significantly reduced chance for developing normal binocular vision. This will affect the child's capacity to learn, as 80% of all learning is processed through the visual system. It will affect the child's participation in sports, as binocular vision is required to detect how fast a ball is moving and how far away the goal is. Reduced binocular vision can limit career choices, such as becoming a pilot, fire person, or police officer. Said Dr. Clatanoff, "If we detect amblyopia early on, it can be treated and its effects minimized. If we don't catch it until age 8 or 9, the treatment is significantly less effective. The phrase we dislike telling parents the most is "if only we had caught this sooner" |