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Dr. Sarah Sliva named Saskatchewan’s Optometrist of the Year

The Saskatchewan Association of Optometrists (SAO) has recognized Dr. Sarah Sliva as recipient of the Optometrist of the Year Award at its recent annual general meeting.
Sarah Silva
Dr. Sarah Sliva

The Saskatchewan Association of Optometrists (SAO) has recognized Dr. Sarah Sliva as recipient of the Optometrist of the Year Award at its recent annual general meeting.

Sliva graduated from the University of Waterloo in 2009 and opened her own optometry clinic, South East Eyecare in Estevan in 2011.

This year marks the clinic’s 10-year anniversary, and it has been shaped into a full-service clinic, serving the vision and eyecare needs of patients in south east Saskatchewan.

In 2019, South East Eyecare expanded with the addition of a satellite clinic in Carnduff.

Coming from a small town herself, Sliva understood the difficulty patients face when travelling for healthcare services and sought to close the gap for vision care.

In addition to her role as a busy entrepreneur, Dr. Sliva is also a mom of six and an active volunteer.

Currently Sarah sits on the association’s billing committee, board of examiners, children’s vision

initiative committee, and new member mentor committee.

She also sits on the board of the Souris Valley Museum, plays the organ at her church, and volunteers on the school community council.

“Sliva is highly committed to education. She frequently accepts optometry students for internships and participates in outreach events in the community to educate people on the importance of vision health,” the SAO said in a news release.

During the pandemic, Dr. Sliva completed three additional optometric programs to enhance the services she is able to deliver and maintained perfect attendance at the association’s spring continuing education program.

“Sarah is more than deserving of the Optometrist of the Year Award. The truth is that I watch the way she approaches clinical situations and I see how appreciative her patients are of her compassionate care and I strive to meet that in my own practice,” said Sliva’s colleague, Dr. Amanda Olsen.

“Dr. Sarah Sliva is a worthy recipient of the Optometrist of the Year Award and a role model as a practitioner, educator, and citizen,” said Dr. Heath Holliday, president of the SAO.

The next edition of the Mercury will have more on this story.