A year ago, Alpine Vision optometrists Tyson Reuter, O.D. and Chris Arbaugh, O.D. decided to open an office in Falcon. Today, they feel right at home.Since the opening, both optometrists feel they have developed a good rapport with their patients. Reuter said he enjoys getting to know the patients personally that visit Alpine Vision, seeing them at the grocery store or while getting his hair cut.And they’ve grown. “It’s been great,” Reuter said of the growth of the practice. “It’s been above and beyond our expectations.”Reuter and Arbaugh have another practice in Colorado Springs. Arbaugh said one reason they decided to open a Falcon office is the 300 families from the Falcon area that they treated in their Colorado Springs practice. “We knew we needed to expand, and this is obviously a market that needed somebody,” Arbaugh said.Reuter and his wife, Sara, visited Falcon one afternoon and noticed there were other medical specialties in the area. Reuter said he remembered thinking that Falcon would be a good place for an office. He said to his wife, “Let’s go for it.”Arbaugh is pleased they chose Falcon for their new location. “I love it. I look forward to the days I am here because it’s a little bit slower paced,” he said.Both optometrists said it was important to them that Alpine Vision captured the rural flavor of the Falcon area. Their office is decorated with branding irons, rural landscapes and farm and ranch gear. “Leave the city in the city, and bring the country out here,” Reuter said.Reuter is no stranger to the country. He grew up on a farm in a Nebraska town of 1,800 residents. “This feels more like home to me – being in a small town,” he said.He attended college at the University of Southern California. Reuter attended optometry school at the University of Houston, where he met Arbaugh. He moved to Colorado in 2001.Arbaugh also has rural roots. While growing up, he lived in small Michigan and Texas towns. After graduating from Michigan State University, he also attended optometry school at the University of Houston. Arbaugh and his wife, also Sara, knew they wanted to eventually live in Colorado after a ski trip. “We noticed how friendly the people were, and it stuck with us,” Arbaugh said.Both Arbaugh and Reuter like spending time in the outdoors. Reuter hunts, fishes, golfs and plays on a Falcon softball team. Arbaugh camps, hunts and also spends quality time with has 8-year-old son, Jeff, as a Cub Scout den leader.When working, Reuter said the partners strive to accommodate both their patients personal and health care needs. “We just try to go the extra mile to make them happy,” he said.In five years Reuter hopes to see their Falcon practice expand. “I feel we’re already outgrowing this space,” he said. He would like to eventually move into a bigger building to accommodate their growing practice and add even more technology.Reuter and Arbaugh said they are proud of their business philosophy to help educate people about their eye health without high-pressure sales. “We want to provide a friendly environment,” Arbaugh said, while also providing good quality service at a reasonable price.”
