Reinholt & Thallemer Eye Care Associates has added a fourth optometrist to its staff, Dr. Brad Basham. Wednesday, the Kosciusko Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon-cutting at the Warsaw business to welcome and help announce the new doctor to the city. Pictured (L to R) are Kaleb Schneidewent, Farm Bureau Insurance, Kosciusko Chamber of Commerce ambassador; Brian Peterson, Brian Peterson Real Estate, ambassador; Jon Vida, Rabb Water Systems, ambassador; Morgan Bruner, W.R. Hall Insurance Group, ambassador; Jon Cosby, Cosby Tree Service, ambassador; Joe Bowles, Hallmark Home Mortgage, ambassador; Dr. Joseph Thallemer, Reinholt & Thallemer Eye Care Associates; Dr. Mitchell Reinholt, Reinholt & Thallemer Eye Care Associates; Dr. Brad Basham, Reinholt & Thallemer Eye Care Associates; Dr. Rachel Johnson, Reinholt & Thallemer Eye Care Associates; Krysta Miller, Winona IT, ambassador; Ben Snyder, Humana, ambassador; Kyrie Maierle, Cardinal Services, ambassador; Tracy Speigle, Via Credit Union, ambassador; Jenna Stanton, Right To Life of North Central Indiana, ambassador; Corbin Holtsberry, Lake City Bank, ambassador; Dawn Jaggers, American Family Insurance, ambassador; Fabiola Holsclaw, Brian Peterson Real Estate, ambassador; Brittany Lyon, Titus Funeral Home, ambassador; and Scott Wiley, Kosciusko Chamber of Commerce member relations manager. Photo by David Slone, Times-Union.

By David Slone
Times-Union

WARSAW — Reinholt & Thallemer Eye Care Associates, 3301 E. Center St. Ext., Warsaw, is growing, and to better serve their patients, they have added a fourth optometrist.

Wednesday morning, the Kosciusko Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon-cutting to welcome and introduce optometrist Dr. Brad Basham to the city.

He joins Dr. Joseph Thallemer, Dr. Mitchell Reinholt and Dr. Rachel Johnson.

A graduate of Indiana University School of Optometry, Basham said he’s been practicing since 1985. From Fort Wayne, he joined Reinholt & Thallemer in November.

“I’m practicing about three days a week” in Warsaw, he said. “I was looking for something not full-time. I just wanted to kind of slow down a little bit, spend more time with family and I was looking for a practice that had values like mine. Take care of our patients well and a good staff. Dr. Mitch and this group, I really like these folks and how they handle their patients, how they take care of patients. They’re very focused on what’s best for them, and I thought that was a good match as I feel similarly.”

Married, he has two kids and two grandsons.

Basham offers a wide array of eye care, including eyeglasses and contact lens, treating patients with eye diseases like glaucoma and pink eye, seeing patients with diabetes that have eye issues and more.

“In the couple months that I’ve been here, I really have enjoyed being in this community. It’s a great community. Lots of nice people I’ve met so far and the practice, the staff, the doctors – great folks, so it’s been a really great experience for me to be in the Warsaw community,” Basham stated.

Reinholt explained that Thallemer started the business in 1980 and he joined the practice in 2013. Johnson joined the business in 2002, according to the website reinholteyecare.com.

Reinholt went to IU for his undergraduate degree and finished optometry school in 2013.

“Joe approached me during my second year of school, seeing if I would be interested in coming back to Warsaw. Soon as that was an option, I didn’t want anything else. It’s really cool to be able to come back to my hometown,” Reinholt said, adding that he’s been with the practice almost 10 years.

He purchased the practice from Thallemer in 2022.

“Brought Brad on board and we’re growing and just trying to take care of as many people in the community as possible,” Reinholt said. “Brad is now our fourth doctor and we’re excited to have him join us.”

Reinholt said he wanted Basham to be a part of the practice because he has a servant’s heart.

“I could tell right away when I met Brad that he cares about people and genuinely wanted to do what’s best by them. Our mission statement here is to provide the highest quality eye care while making our patients feel cared for and cared about. And that caring part is the most critical for me, so I really try to build a team that cares about the people we’re serving and Brad is the epitome of that. He cares, takes great care of people and he’s a great fit here,” he said.

Reinholt & Thallemer Eye Care Associates offers primary care optometry so general glasses and contacts are their most frequent business, but Reinholt said they treat all kinds of eye diseases, short of surgery.

“We’ve added quite a bit of technology over the last few years that enable us to monitor things in a very high level,” he said. “We have cameras that take very detailed pictures of the back of the eye to try to minimize how often we have to dilate patients’ (eyes).”

Reinholt said they also have a camera that’s very similar to an MRI that takes a 3D picture of the back of the eye and helps them look at a very high level for changes or disease.

“We’re able to do a lot more than just make sure people are seeing well, but obviously that’s the core of what we do to try to make sure our patients have the best vision possible and that their eyes are healthy,” he said.

For anyone who wears glasses, the frame is an important part because it’s what others usually notice first. Reinholt said they currently have around 1,300 frames. They carry the Ray Bans, Coach and other brands, as well as the newer technology frames and the lower-end frames that will work and are still high-quality.

“Quite a variety in design and fashion and price range. We really try to have something that works for everybody,” he stated.

Reinholt said they’re always taking new patients. Patients are scheduled Monday through Friday, typically from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. A couple evenings they’re available until 6 p.m. The office is closed daily from 1 to 2 p.m. for lunch. Some Saturday morning appointments are available one or two Saturdays a month.

“The reason we were looking for an additional doctor is our schedule is booked out further than I feel like what people are comfortable with, so if they call and want to get in for an appointment, we were telling them between six and eight weeks until we could schedule them for routine eye care,” Reinholt said.

They always build in times for emergencies, but the routine care was longer than what is ideal. By bringing Basham on board and adding an additional exam room, Reinholt said currently they’re able to book people within a week.

“We’re able to get people in sooner and more comfortably,” he stated.

To contact Reinholt & Thallemer Eye Care Associates, call (574) 269-3828 or fax (574) 269-3848.

“We just love the community and want to take care of our people. We really appreciate our patients who trust us with their vision and their eye health and have allowed us to build a relationship over the years,” Reinholt concluded.