Hartford Business Journal

BC16 Hartford Business Journal • June 9, 2014 www.HartfordBusiness.com fichmAn sees hope in struggling hartford neighborhood By Kathryn M. Roy h artford native Dr. Richard A. Fichman has never forgot- ten where he came from. The pioneer of Lasik eye surgery, who has trained countless ophthalmologists on various eye surgery techniques, said he is committed to revitalizing the struggling Upper Albany section of Hartford, where one of his Fichman Eye Center offices calls home. "My family grew up in this neighborhood, and my heart's always been there," said Fichman, who is the president of Fich- man Eye Center, with offices in Manchester, Hartford, Tor- rington and New Britain. "I came back because I thought by putting a medical clinic in there, I could change the paradigm." Fichman is active in various community organizations in the neighborhood, serving on the board of directors for Upper Albany Main Street and as chairman of Upper Albany Development Inc. Fichman said he sees a lot of potential for a rejuvenated Albany Avenue. "We get an enormous amount of traffic that goes through there from the suburbs every day," he said. "If we clean it up - the state is putting in a streetscape improvement proj- ect there, and we have a façade program to clean up some of the buildings and attract some merchants – there's no reason merchants can't do extremely well there." Fichman, selected as the Connecticut Business Person of the Year by the Connecticut Main Street Society last year, also recently won an award from Tunxis Community College for a documentary he created on the Hartford neighborhood. He's also started a scholarship program for students who live there, benefitting an Upper Albany student who attends the University of Hartford. "The beauty is, they can actually walk to school," he said. "[We want to help] a kid who wouldn't have gotten to go to college [without financial help assistance]." Fichman's relationship with the University of Hartford goes beyond the scholarship program. He has also worked with the university's micro-business incubator program, in which he men- tors a student who shadows him at work. He also regularly speaks to students about how to become a successful entrepreneur. Marilyn Risi, executive director of Upper Albany Main Street, said Fichman has been active with community initia- tives since he opened his office there in 2012. "His business became a pivot point between the West End and Blue Hills," Risi said. "He takes all kinds of insurance, including HUSKY insurance, and has been well received by the community." Risi said Fichman is a great representative of the work done by Upper Albany Main Street. "He defines our mission, which is to preserve, revitalize and support the commercial district, and that, to us, is the catalyst," she said. "Having businesses like his helps to grow other businesses." Fichman started his career as an associate professor and chief of ophthalmology at Woodhull Hospital in New York City. After awhile, he yearned for the slower paced lifestyle in Connecticut and wanted to spend more time with his fam- ily, so he moved back to the state and opened a small office in Avon in 1984. It was a modest, one-room office in an orthope- dic surgeon's center where he saw patients in the evenings a few times a week, plus weekends. He later worked as chief of ophthalmology at the Veterans Affairs hospital in Newington. When a Manchester ophthalmologist died in 1984, Fich- man purchased the practice and added several locations. At the same time, Fichman was developing a technique for doing cataract surgery without using a needle to sedate the eye – a procedure that had many drawbacks. "I came up with a way to just do it with eye drops, called topi- cal anesthesia," he said. "It took a while to convince people that this was a good way to do it, and in my mind, a better way to do it." With Fichman's method, the eye wasn't frozen in place – the patient did have some sensation. But after scores of doc- tors watched him do the surgery, they were convinced it was a better way to do it. "Now I would say 90 percent of the cases in the world are done with topical anesthesia," he said. "Since 1990, at least 100 million (cataract surgeries performed) have used my technique." In 1993, Fichman discovered that the Excimer laser could be used to treat near- and far-sightedness. While its approval for vision correction surgery was held up for years by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Fichman and some col- leagues used the laser in the Dominican Republic, performing free surgeries while gaining experience and training other doctors. Upon FDA approval, Fichman began building his Lasik eye surgery practice in Connecticut. Although Fichman is primarily a cataract surgeon, his prac- tice has ophthalmologists, optometrists, glaucoma and macular degeneration specialists. The company also has very active opti- cal shops, where both lenses and frames can be done in-house. Fichman said he simply tries his best to provide patients with the best service, giving them all the time they need. "There's always a live person to talk to when you call my office," he said. "We try to give personal service to everybody. Our mission statement is to take great care of people — not just the eye." ★ BuSINESS ChAmPIONS 2014 winner: COmmuNITy INvOLvEmENT AT A GLANCE : fichman eye center Address: 178 Hartford Rd., Manchester Web: www.fichmaneyecenter.com Leadership: Richard Fichman, president Work: Vision correction/Lasik, cataract surgery, full-service optical shop, eye exams. Year founded: 1984 Richard Fichman, a pioneer of Lasik eye surgery, has made it his focus to revitalize the Upper Albany section of Hartford, where one of his Fichman Eye Centers has an office. In the photos below, Fichman treats and examines various patients.

• Cover