For the first time, Doral residents can see Bascom Palmer Eye Institute physicians without driving to the institute's main campus. UHealth, the University of Miami Health System, has opened UHealth Doral, 87th Avenue, an 11,165-square-foot outpatient center that took its first patients on Oct. 15 and adds eye care, physical therapy and occupational therapy to the city.

Bascom Palmer is the University of Miami's eye hospital, ranked No. 1 in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. The Doral center is the third UHealth site in the city, and the first with space set aside for Bascom Palmer.

Which eye services are offered

Bascom Palmer is starting the Doral location with a select range of services, which UHealth describes as a phased approach. Available now:

  • General and comprehensive eye care
  • Optometry
  • Non-surgical retinal care
  • Corneal services

Patients who need more specialized care stay connected to the rest of Bascom Palmer's network of subspecialists and treatments, according to the health system. The center also has an Optical Express location, so a new prescription can be turned into glasses in the same building.

Physical and occupational therapy

The second half of the building is rehabilitation. Physical and occupational therapists from the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine's physical therapy department are seeing patients at the 87th Avenue center, which means someone recovering from surgery or an injury in western Miami-Dade can start treatment closer to home rather than crossing the county for every session.

The physical therapy department's chair, Neva Kirk-Sanchez, said in UHealth's announcement that shorter trips help patients start treatment sooner and stick with it through recovery.

One of three UHealth buildings in Doral

UHealth's Doral footprint has grown in steps. Its first satellite opened in fall 2022, beside the land where UHealth Doral Medical Center went up two years later. That medical center offers cancer care from Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, urology from the Desai Sethi Urology Institute, gastroenterology, orthopedics, cardiology, neurology and other specialties.

The new 87th Avenue center is built to work with the other two. UHealth says a patient who comes in for eye care or therapy shares one medical record and one care team with those sites, so a referral from an optometrist to a specialist down the road stays inside the same system.

UHealth leaders tie the expansion to the growth of western Miami-Dade, and to the idea that bringing specialists into the neighborhood removes one barrier to getting care: the drive.

Where it is

The center is on Northwest 87th Avenue in Doral, as its name says, and it works alongside UHealth Doral Medical Center and the original Doral satellite. Call either number below for the exact suite and parking directions when you book.

How to book

Eye care: Call Bascom Palmer at 305-243-2020 and ask for an appointment at UHealth Doral, 87th Avenue.

Physical or occupational therapy: Call 305-689-5635.

Already a UHealth patient? The Doral center uses the same medical record as the rest of the health system, so existing records follow you.

Sources