IN FOCUS: Sault's newest eye doctors are also a couple

Dr. Alicia Mlynarczyk and Dr. Dustin Diotte will be practicing optometry at the Sault’s Station Tower Optometry on Bay Street beginning Tuesday, August 6.

The arrival of the engaged couple — who met while studying optometry at the University of Waterloo and who have decided to relocate from their current home and optometry practice in Fredericton, New Brunswick — will be a homecoming for Sault native Mlynarczyk and a relocation for Diotte.

Diotte was born and raised in Moncton, New Brunswick.

Their arrival also means the two will be helping to fill a need for young medical professionals in this community. 

“It’s exciting. Being born and raised in the Sault I know what a great community it is so I’m excited about being able to provide eye care services for the community that raised me. The majority of my family and friends live in the Sault so it’s going to be nice to be close to them,” Mlynarczyk told SooToday.

“I’m excited to meet all the folks. My family in the Sault is Alicia’s family in the Sault. My roommate in optometry school was from Thunder Bay so I guess you could say I have this natural connection with northern Ontario people. They’re really good people and I’m excited to join the community in the Sault,” Diotte said.

The Sault will not be completely new for Diotte.

“I’ve spent a decent amount of time in Sault Ste. Marie. While we were in school COVID was happening so in a sense I almost got blocked out of New Brunswick but we were in the Sault and honestly I felt it was a lot like home,” Diotte said.

For Mlynarczyk, the move will also be a type of reunion with Dr. Alison Hayes-Sheen who operates Station Tower Optometry, assisted by Dr. Megan Ambeault.

“She was my first optometrist from when I was about five years old. It’s such a full-circle moment to now be joining her practice and working alongside her. We’re looking forward to helping Dr. Hayes-Sheen out with her patient base and we’re also accepting anyone looking for an eye care provider. Everyone is welcome,” Mlynarczyk said.

Mlynarczyk and Diotte met with Hayes-Sheen to discuss joining the Station Tower Optometry team during a visit to the Sault during the Christmas season in 2023. 

“After some discussions between me and Dustin we decided that the Sault is where we wanted to be and it offers everything we were looking for not only in a practice but also outside of work. We decided this is what we’re doing next.”

Mlynarczyk is looking forward to cross country skiing, hiking and kayaking in the Sault and area while Diotte enjoys playing both hockey and softball in his spare time.

Mlynarczyk’s clinical interests include glaucoma, ocular disease and specialty contact lenses.

Diotte has an interest in advanced glaucoma and macular degeneration. 

“An area that gets me excited is control of myopia (a common vision condition in which close objects are clearly seen while far away objects look blurry).”

“There’s been a big push recently in terms of specialty lenses and glasses and specialty contacts that can actually help to slow down how some children become nearsighted. That’s been a big thing over the last few years that has really taken off and that is one area that is very important to provide a service for. That is something that we’re both going to be happily managing in our professional lives,” Diotte said.

Having access to Diotte will be a benefit for the Sault’s Francophone community.

In New Brunswick he treated patients of all ages in both English and French.

“Growing up in New Brunswick, it was the classic tale of having a French mother and an English father so I’ve been speaking French since I was six,” Diotte said.

Both doctors are aware that young healthcare professionals are needed in the Sault.

“Being able to serve my community and help residents with their visual needs is very rewarding. There’s a demand for doctors in the Sault and area and we’re happy to help with that demand,” Mlynarczyk said.

“Excitement is definitely a word that comes to mind. The population is getting older and with that they’re going to need more care. It’s a really good opportunity to help out as many people as we can,” Diotte said.

Both doctors shared why they chose optometry as a career.

“I’ve been interested in optometry since I was a child. I’ve always been quite nearsighted since my childhood. Glasses and contact lenses really changed my life and I knew it was something I wanted to do for other people,” Mlynarczyk said.

“As an undergrad I studied neuroscience so I became interested in how we perceive the world and to me vision is the most fascinating of all our senses,” Diotte said.

Dr. Alison Hayes-Sheen began practicing as an optometrist in 1990 at an office on March Street and rebranded her practice as Station Tower Optometry in 2012.

She is looking forward to the arrival of Mlynarczyk and Diotte. 

“I’m very excited,” Hayes-Sheen said.

“To be able to attract any doctor to this city is big news. The two new doctors are both going to be coming and working full-time and so there won’t be as much pressure on me and I’ve been practicing for 34 years, so it’s getting to be that time to take the opportunity to work a little bit less.”

“My daughter went to elementary school with Alicia’s older sister, so I’ve known her parents. They’ve been patients of our practice. When Alicia was a little girl she would come to us to get her eyes checked,” Hayes-Sheen said.

“Now she’s all grown up and going to come and work with the same doctor she had for her first eye exam. It’s kind of neat that way. About a year and a half ago I ran into her parents at a stag and doe and they were saying ‘we really hope she’ll come to the Sault’ so I reached out to her to see if she and Dustin would be interested in coming to the Sault.”

That social connection was important, Hayes-Sheen said.

“We don’t have recruiters. The hospital has recruiters but optometrists don't fall into that category. We have to put a little more effort into getting these doctors and finding out where they are.”

Hayes-Sheen said the two optometrists’ decision to practice in this community is a vital development.

“I think if we didn’t continually see new eye doctors coming we’d be in big trouble because there are always doctors retiring and you have to keep replacing them. Dr. Lynda Myles just retired and there are some other local optometrists who probably will in the next year or two. I’m heading in that direction in the next two or three years. You have to have new blood coming in.”

Hayes-Sheen said there are nearly 24,000 patients on the Station Tower Optometry roster.

“It’s a very big practice. This practice goes back to Dr. Cunningham in 1949. Our phone is ringing off the hook every day. Our practice base goes across Algoma. Patients come from quite a way sometimes to get an eye exam. We’ve never refused a patient. We’ve never had a closed practice. If anyone calls we’ll say ‘yes, we’ll find you a spot.’ A lot of the patients will be moving over from me to Alicia and Dustin because I won’t be as available and any new patients coming in will probably go directly with one of the new doctors. That will make it easier to get the new patients in sooner.”