The fourteen physicians and more than 100 staff of Columbia Eye welcome Philip H. Scharper, M.D., J.D. to the practice.  He is excited to relocate to the Midlands to join the largest and most advanced medical surgical Ophthalmology practice in the Midlands.

Dr. Scharper specializes in Vitreoretinal Diseases and Surgery. He sees patients at three of Columbia Eye’s conveniently located offices in Downtown Columbia, Northeast Columbia, and West Columbia.

Dr. Scharper grew up in Maryland and has lived across the country, including Washington DC, Hawaii, Pennsylvania, and Alabama. In addition to his medical career, he is also a licensed attorney specializing in health law and elder law. He and his wife, who is also a physician, are raising four children—two boys and two girls. Their oldest daughter currently attends Emory University, where she is a member of the swim team. Outside of work, Dr. Scharper enjoys spending time with his family, playing ping pong, squash, football, running, writing children’s books, and developing health-focused foods. Learn more about his children’s books at www.philipscharper.com.

Dr. Scharper completed a Medical & Surgical Retina Fellowship at the University of Alabama, Birmingham/Retina Specialists of Alabama, Callahan Eye Foundation Hospital. He completed his Residency at Georgetown/Washington Hospital Center in Washington, DC and earned his M.D. from Georgetown University School of Medicine in Washington, DC. Dr. Scharper completed his Internship at the University of Hawaii in Honolulu, Hawaii. He earned his B.A. from Loyola University in Baltimore, Maryland.

Dr. Scharper also holds a Master of Laws (L.L.M.) in Elder Law and Estate Planning from Western New England School of Law in Springfield, Massachusetts, a Master of Medical Management (M.M.M.) from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and a Juris Doctorate (J.D.) from the University of Maryland School of Law in Baltimore, Maryland.

Dr. Scharper is a member American Association of Ophthalmology, American Society of Retina Specialists, and Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology. He is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives, American College of Legal Medicine, and American College of Surgeons.

To schedule an appointment with Dr. Scharper call 803.779.3070.

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U.S. News & World Report, the global authority in hospital rankings and consumer advice, has again ranked Columbia Eye Surgery Center a Best Ambulatory Surgery Center for 2025 in the second annual edition of the recognition. Columbia Eye Surgery Center was one of only six ophthalmic ambulatory surgery centers recognized in South Carolina and the only in the Midlands region. Columbia Eye Surgery Center was also named Best Ambulatory Surgery Center in 2024.

Ambulatory surgery centers were evaluated based on objective, risk-adjusted measures of their patients’ outcomes, including how successfully they avoided complications, ER visits, unplanned hospitalizations and other undesirable outcomes. To ensure fair comparisons among ambulatory surgery centers, the analysis accounted for each patient’s pre-existing conditions and other risk factors.

Columbia Eye Surgery Center earns an overall high performing rating. The Center ranks very high both nationally and statewide for number of procedures performed. More experience in performing procedures or treating conditions correlates to positive patient outcomes.

The Center ranks low in instances of complications compared to similar surgical centers. This low indication indicates that on average, procedures at this surgical center go smoothly. The Center also ranks lower than average in Instances of post-procedure ER visits and average or lower than expected in the frequency of poor patient outcomes.

View ratings details.

U.S. News & World Report is the global leader for journalism that empowers consumers, citizens, business leaders and policy officials to make confident decisions in all aspects of their lives and communities. A multifaceted media company, U.S. News provides unbiased rankings, independent reporting and analysis, and consumer advice to millions of people on USNews.com each month. A pillar in Washington for more than 90 years, U.S. News is the trusted home for in-depth and exclusive insights on education, health, politics, the economy, personal finance, travel, automobiles, real estate, careers and consumer products and services.

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Columbia Eye, the Midlands largest medical surgical ophthalmology practice, is proud to announce the overwhelmingly positive results of a year-long patient customer service survey. Throughout 2024, the practice used a third-party platform to survey patients in several measures of customer service. The results showed over 98 percent of patients rating the customer service they received as positive.

The survey asked patients to rate Columbia Eye staff for politeness, friendliness, efficiency, helpfulness, courtesy, and respectfulness. We attribute the high marks to our patient-focused philosophy of care. The results reflect the unwavering commitment of our team of doctors and staff to provide outstanding care, personalized attention, and a superior patient experience.

“From the moment a patient walks through our doors, our mission is to provide not only the best eye care but also a welcoming and supportive environment.” said William A. Johnson, Jr., M.D., president of Columbia Eye. “This recognition is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our entire team to ensure our patients achieve their personal best vision.”

To schedule an appointment at any of our four convenient locations call 803-779-3070.

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The Methodist Rural Rehabilitation project at Gebeau, located just across the Grande-Anse River on the outskirts of Jérémie, only housed a ten-by-twelve-foot wooden medical clinic with little equipment and even less medication. The people were suffering from rampant disease and malnutrition, vision loss from cataracts, and other illness easily treatable. Dr. Hal knew he needed to help. 

Dr. Hal teamed up with Dr. Watson and other United Methodist Volunteers in Mission partners to construct a new medical-tuberculosis clinic that would also include an eye and dental wing—and where he and his colleagues would spend the next fifty years traveling to support. 

In his book, Eyes for Haiti, Dr. Hal reflects on the many doctors, nurses, and others who joined him in his 50 year journey to help the people of Haiti. 100% of proceeds from sales of the book will benefit the medical clinic in Haiti. The book is available as a paperback ($20) and ebook ($7) from The Advocate Press, the publishing arm of the South Carolina United Methodist Advocate newspaper, and Amazon.

He is a graduate of the University of South Carolina (1956) and the Medical University of South Carolina (1960). He then completed a one-year internship at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia (1961). After serving as a medical officer in the United States Air Force, Crosswell completed his residency in ophthalmology at the Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta (1964-1967). He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Ophthalmology and the American College of Surgeons and a Diplomat of the American Board of Ophthalmology.

Crosswell served as clinical associate professor of ophthalmology on the staff of the USC School of Medicine for more than twenty years and, in 2007, was awarded the Alginon Sidney Sullivan award by the university for his work in Haiti. 

He was awarded the Order of the Palmetto by the State of South Carolina in 2006.

He and his family are longtime members of Shandon United Methodist Church in Columbia.

The post Dr. Hal Crosswell Pens Book About 50 Years of Volunteer Service in Haiti appeared first on Columbia Eye.

U.S. News & World Report, the global authority in hospital rankings and consumer advice, recently announced the “Best Ambulatory Surgery Centers” ratings of outpatient surgical centers. Among the 198 ambulatory surgery centers named across the country, Columbia Eye Surgery Center is one of only six ophthalmic ambulatory surgery centers named in South Carolina and the only named in the Midlands area.

Ambulatory surgery centers were evaluated based entirely on objective, risk-adjusted measures of their patients’ outcomes, including how successfully they avoided complications, ER visits, unplanned hospitalizations, and other undesirable outcomes. 

U.S. News awards the designation of “Best Ambulatory Surgery Centers” only to the highest-rated surgical centers that satisfy U.S. News’ statistical assessment of performance; fewer than 15% of evaluated facilities earned a “High Performing” rating.

U.S. News & World Report is the global leader in quality rankings that empower consumers, business leaders and policy officials to make better, more informed decisions about important issues affecting their lives and communities.

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Columbia Eye office locations will observe the following closure schedule for the Christmas and New Year’s holidays:

Downtown Columbia – Closed December 23rd-26th and December 30th-January 1^st
Lexington – Closed December 25th, 26th and January 1^st
Northeast Columbia – Closed December 19^th, 25th, 26th, 28th and January 1st. Closed at 1:00 p.m. on December 22nd.
West Columbia – Closed December 25th, 26th, 27th, and January 1st

A doctor will be on-call throughout the holidays.

The post Holiday Closure Schedule appeared first on Columbia Eye.

Multiple generations of patients know Dr. Cain for his medical expertise, kindness, caring, and patient-focused approach to care.

Since joining the practice in 1978, Dr. Cain has seen Columbia Eye grow to the largest and most advanced medical-surgical ophthalmology practice in the Midlands and one of the largest in South Carolina.

Join us in expressing gratitude and appreciate for his four and a half decades of service. He will be missed! 

The post Congratulations to Dr. Bill Cain on his retirement! appeared first on Columbia Eye.

Happy 4th of July! Our office locations will observe the following closures the week of the Independence Day holiday.⁠ ⁠

Downtown Columbia – CLOSED July 4, 2023⁠
Lexington – CLOSED July 4 & 5, 2023⁠
Northeast Columbia – CLOSED July 3 & 4, 2023⁠
West Columbia – CLOSED July 4, 5 & 7, 2023⁠

You may reach our on-call physician at 803-779-3070 throughout the holiday week.

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All clinic locations will be closed for the Memorial Day holiday on Saturday, May 28^th and Monday May 30^th and will reopen on Tuesday, May 31^st.

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One visitor is now permitted with each patient.

Face masks are optional for patients and accompanying visitors. Staff members are still required to wear face masks in all patient areas and anytime they are in close contact with other staff members.

The safety of our patients, staff, physicians, and visitors continues to be our highest priority. We are closely monitoring infection rates in the community and will adjust our COVID-19 precautions as appropriate. Thank you for your continued cooperation as we work to provide the highest quality care to our patients.

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