Helm Vision Group

Absolutely FANTASTIC staff, beautiful and comfortable office, and excellent doctors. From the time I walked though the door, until I left, I was treated like a VIP. In particular, Myshelle went out of her way to make ordering and fitting glasses painless and comfortable. I am not easily impressed with medical offices, but I certainly am with this one!
Don’t go anywhere else for eye care — Helm Vision Group is all you need.

This vision group is cold, poorly managed, and more concerned with making money than serving patients. I’ve been seeing Dr. Engh for decades and moved to Helm Vision Group with him when he closed his private practice.
When I visited the first time, I waited an hour and fifteen minutes to see a doctor. I had made an appointment and was not informed that they were running behind. I know three others who have had similar experiences. One coworker waited THREE HOURS once.
When I was deciding between two pairs of glasses, the employee REFUSED to give me feedback. When pressed, she found another employee who would give her opinion. That was just weird.
When selecting contacts, I was told «Don’t bother trying to find this brand cheaper elsewhere. We price match.» Turns out that was a lie. I later found the same brand for significantly less through 1−800-CONTACTS.
And finally, as if the other issues hadn’t sent me in search of a new doctor: today I received a letter from a debt collection agency for my unpaid balance of — wait for it — TEN DOLLARS. I received no bill, no phone call from Helm, absolutely no explanation for this «debt». I was in the office no more than three weeks ago, where I picked up and paid for my contacts. No mention of this supposed debt.
I am beyond baffled why they opted to send this through a collection agency rather than call me, especially considering the paltry sum I somehow neglected to pay. Even if this debt were legitimate (which it is not), the fact that it was handled in this way reinforces the cold nature of this establishment.
If you go here, you will not be viewed as a patient.
As for me, I’ve lost my patience.
Thank you, Helm Vision Group, for opening my eyes. No more vision groups for me. I’ll be moving on.
*Update in response to Craig’s comment below*
Perhaps it was unfair to bring up the reception staff. I do believe that you would address an issue as severe as the one I mentioned. I did, however, witness what I described at my first visit. I will note that at other visits, the staff member in question was not there. I want to be fair, so I can reasonably believe that issue was handled. I have removed that line from my review. As for the other concerns, they remain. You cannot allege that the other claims are false: I did wait far longer than necessary, I was passed off, I was lied to, I was sent a collection notice with no prior communication.
I am not trying to hide that my reason for posting was because of the letter I received from a collection agency. That is truly upsetting. I think anyone else would feel that. And therein lies my biggest concern: you say I was sent three letters. I was not. Perhaps there is some explanation for this, and I would like to believe there is. And if enough time has passed for three letters to be sent (in addition to the one from the collection agency), why would you not have just told me about this $ 10 debt when I came to pick up my contacts recently? I DO understand that you are a business, that I DO have to pay for my services, but I always HAVE. Even when I learned that I could find my contacts cheaper elsewhere, I did not contest the amount you charged me at the office. I would rather learn my lesson and move on. I would have done the same if one of those letters arrived. If the $ 10 charge was explained, I would have paid it.
But to hear about it for the first time from a collection agency, without any explanation of the cost… that is just a serious blow. I was hurt by that. It makes me feel like I have done something horribly wrong. That is not something a customer should feel if it can be avoided. This is not a matter of me not being considerate or trying to dodge a payment. In addition, I left a voicemail at your office, and I was not called back. Again, if the payment is explained, I have no problems paying it. I do, however, find that how this situation was handled completely unacceptable.

I had lasik by Dr Helm 2 years ago and I highly recommend his office. Dr Helm made me feel very comfortable and walked me thru the whole procedure. I was very nervous and scared but it only took about 20 all together and till this day I have ²⁰⁄₂₀ vision. I’m very happy and blessed to have great vision. Thanks to Dr Helm and his great staff!

Been going there for a number of years and they seem to be less and less interested in my eyes and more and more interested in my money. I wish they would take care of their loyal patients more than their bank accounts.

Dr. Helm and his staff are fantastic! I had a lasik consultation one day and they scheduled me for surgery the next day. The day after my surgery I could see perfectly! The wait time in the waiting room was not long and again the staff was friendly and accommodating.

I am new to Helm Vision. I needed an eye exam and new glasses. I was able to get an appointment the week that I called. I didn’t have to wait long to be seen as I was happy to browse their huge selection of frames while a waited. Lema in optical was super helpful and gave me a few ideas on frames before I saw the Dr.
I was seen by Dr. Engn and he was great. My exam was easy and painless.
I then met with Lema again and she had many styles of frames waiting for me. She was so helpful and I got glasses and sunglasses that I am very happy with.
If you are looking for an office that has everything this is the place to go.

I had LASIK Surgery with Helm Vision Group in October. It was one of the best thing I did in my life. Being able to see ²⁰⁄₂₀ is amazing. Dr. Helm & the staff are very friendly and sweet. If you are looking to have LASIK this is the best Place. Simple, affordable and quality service.

I have known Craig Helm for more than 15 years. I wore glasses for over 30 years. I am a successful LASIK patient who has has ²⁰⁄₂₀ vision for more than 9 years. Just recently, my wife has cataract surgery and she now has ²⁰⁄₂₀ vision. To all those looking for a successful eye surgery, Craig Helm is the best! Wouldn’t trust anyone else in the business. Pain free and quick., honest and trustworthy, a caring person. Thanks doc!

I gave you a second chance. Shame on me.
Just a normal annual exam today for a new contact lens prescription. Checked in at 2:52 pm (they make you write down your arrival time) for my 3:00 pm appointment with Dr. Gross. Didn’t get called out of the waiting area until 3:50 pm. Got out of the final exam room at 5:05 pm. Thank goodness the ordering of my contacts took a quick 10 minutes thereafter and I was out the door around 5:20 pm. I’m sorry, but under no circumstance should someone spend 2 and a half hours here for a routine visit.

With an appointment, it took us two hours to be seen by a doctor. The receptionist wouldn’t let me have my Starbucks; a professional 40 year old woman and I had to leave my drink at the counter or drink it outside. We have been seeing the same doc forever, but since he moved here, that’ll be the last time we see him. There are far too many fantastic eye doctors in Santa Clarita that one should have to deal with a two hour wait comforted by swallowing your own saliva since your tea has been commandeered by a receptionist.

Very unhappy!!! Not only did they move and not notify me but they lost my sons file! All the new office could do is blame Dr Engn’s old staff! If you took on this Dr you should have made sure all files where transferred not just tossed into storage where things get lost!

Waiting over 2 hours for a dr visit is way too long. Two waiting rooms? Is that supposed to make the wait easier? Then they didn’t even bill the correct insurance. I carry vision insurance which they billed for my glasses, but not the exam. For that they billed my medical insurance, which meant They could collect two copays instead of one. Error? Or more money for the office? This place is a factory, not my kind of medicine. I’m looking for a new ophthalmologist.

Ok so. I requested the ambulatory surgery center that I knew my insurance would pay for. I also requested a specific anesthesiologists who is a friend of my husband’s and mine. Neither request he (Dr.Helm) listen to. Then at his surgery center they taped my ear ring in the cartilage of my ear and my nose ring. The tape came off my nose cuz i was getting anxious and hot because I didn’t know who was doing the anisthesia so i asked them to just put tape on it when i get a little sedated… well, they took it out instead. It hasn’t been out in years. So i had difficulty getting it back in. His staff scoffed when I asked if my husband could come in prior to me going under «moderate» sedation. What really was just concious sedation. I heard everything being said. Some one held my left arm down tight and my right arm was in a restraint… a restraint? Really… if it wasn’t for the fact that I’m fresh post op. I would never return to this place again. I truely believe that s#*t roll down hill. Well congrats Dr. Helm, you have the worst customer service ever. How dare you take my money and treat me like cap. If it’s getting old for you… retire. stop taking it out on your patients.

I like everything and everyone here except for the wait. Dr. Helm is awesome. He transplanted my damaged left cornea 7 years ago and there have been no problems.

Helm Vision Group was great from start to finish. They were able to promptly fit me into the schedule for a free lasik consultation. The office staff was polite and professional. The office is beautiful with state of the art modern equipment. I never had to wait long. Dr. Guam did a great job of answering all my questions and calming my fears about the procedure. No one ever made me feel pressured to schedule the procedure after my free consultation. Erica, the surgery scheduler for Dr. Helm, was amazingly helpful in finding the right payment plan for me and gave me preop and postoperative instructions. The actual lasik procedure was a piece of cake and Dr. Helm and the staff were comforting and made it fun. Their laser machine is the latest and greatest in technology and he talks you through the procedure. My mom and fiancé got to watch it from a window in the next room! The next day I went in for first postoperative eye exam and my vision was already almost perfect! Erica also checked in to see how I was doing. Over the weekend I ran into a problem with my eye drops and I emailed erica not thinking I would get a response but she responded within 30min! She easily resolved my problem and was such a huge help. I would highly recommend the Helm Vision group!

I found myself having an appointment at this facility about a year ago. I left there so angry.
I had called the eye doctor that I usually go to and got an appointment. I was told that he had moved and that was no problem for me. I did see my doctor but it was about a two minute visit during which he told me that he had SOLD his practice and was now working for this Dr. Helm.
Well I was charged as a NEW PATIENT. Over $ 300.00! I was with MY doctor that I had been to so many times. I was in his presence about 5 minutes max.
Then after the fact, I was made to pay what they assumed my insurance wouldn’t pay. They even had this unfriendly sign staring at me on their counter.
Santa Clarita Signal newspaper even had them «voted» as most popular OPTHAMOLOGY in Santa Clarita. That doesn’t say much for the readers of the Signal newspaper.
There is a wonderful female OPTHAMOLOGIST on Lyons Blvd that I highly recommend.

I went to Helm Vision Group for laysik eye surgery. Erica was a big help for me prior to my surgery day, helping me with timing and returning all of my calls promptly. She was so sweet, comforting and helpful with my questions.
On my day of surgery, I was only under the laser system for about 13 minutes and under the actual laser for only about 6 seconds each eye! The experience was like going ludicrous speed, out of a so-​fi movie. It was comforting knowing I was under the best laser system, the only laser system that is FDA approved with 400 pulses per minute (as compared to what my father had in 2001 of 200 ppm). I was getting anxious but Dr. Helm calmly walked me threw what he was doing before he would proceed, and comforted me the whole way. I felt no pain until taking off the tape from the mask I wore out.
An amazing experience! I can see ²⁰⁄₁₅ now and was able to see the next day and drive home (Mammoth Lakes), and went skiing/​work that weekend. If considering laser eye surgery, I would recommend Helm Vision Group.

I’ve went to Dr Helm two years ago for Mono-​vision. My husband had his Upper lids done here as well. Although, the my vision correction surgery went well, the follow-​up care was not very good. Follow-​up was always done with a female doctor and she would always say, «Your eyes are dry.» I would tell her that the Yellow dye they put in your eyes to speed up the ability for them to examine your eye caused me severe pain she didn’t believe me. It wasn’t until the 2^nd follow-​up visit where she used the yellow dye and I bounced up out of the chair and almost pushed the lens machine on her lap when I yelled, «F#(+!» she believed me. After that, episode, I would remind her, «NO DYE!» and she would always say, «It’s not suppose to hurt.» Well then, DO YOU THINK THERE IS A PROBLEM? She never recommended I use a petroleum based over night hydrator or even Restasis. I had to figure that out on my own. Then I asked to be seen for follow-​up with Dr Helm I got the other male doctor. (Like I wouldn’t notice it wasn’t Dr. Helm.) I stopped going to the follow-​up appointments. I’ve also stop recommending him to my clients and friends. I must have sent him 6 people for eye lid surgery and Lasix vision correction. I’ve had appointments in the past that I sat for 1:45 minutes and finally just walked out because, I have a life too. If the office staff make an appointment weeks in advance for you I might expect you to be 10 or 15 minutes late but, 90 or 120 minutes late? It’s not only happen to me it’s happen to my daughter that she had long waits. It’s obvious he triple books anticipating cancellations but, does Dr. Helm people walking out?
*** A friend of mine that saw Dr. Helm for Blepthrospasm of her right eye last month. He injected BOTOX around her lower lateral right eye muscle and directly below near her nose and cheek area, is what the friend said to me as she pointed. After 3 weeks when the BOTOX peaked she had cessation of the eye muscle spasm but, she also had no control of her right upper lip. At first I though she had a stroke! But, she could smile and use her lower mouth muscles equally. I urged my friend to go back to him and let him see what he had done. But, she was so afraid of hurting his feelings that she didn’t call to alert him of the horrible side effect she sustained of either misplaced Botox injections or over dosing. She looked like Billy Idol on the left side and a stroke victim on the right.
For the most part, I think Dr. Helm is a good doctor. I think it’s just he is caught up in greed trying to SEE as many patients as he can and it’s showing in the quality of care you receive.

The entire team at Helm Vision provided me with an exceptional experience. I was absolutely *blown away* at the level of service, quality of care and overall value I received.
I wore glasses from age 6 and then switched to hard contacts at 14. At 24, I was prescribed soft (Toric) contacts for astigmatism. My Rx was –7.0 in both eyes with moderate astigmatism (without corrective lenses, I couldn’t see my own fingers when I extended my hand at a full arms length). I feared I would not be a candidate for LASIK, but chose to inquire anyway.
I chose Dr. Helm, because he is the only Board-​Certified Ophthalmologist in my city who has the Allegretto Excimer laser (which is state of the art). Moreover, Dr. Helm has 28 years experience and completed a corneal/​refractive surgery fellowship from UCLA.
After my initial call to Helm, I was directed to only wear glasses for 2 weeks prior to my initial checkup. Dr. Guan conducted a routine eye exam, but also checked my eye pressure and corneal thickness. (They dilated my eyes which was mildly uncomfortable– (in terms of discomfort, I’d say it was a 2 on a scale of 1 to 10). They touched a small apparatus to my eye which was not uncomfortable, (just unusual). The exam was finished. The entire exam took about 2 hours. I found out a couple of days later that I was a candidate for LASIK.
I scheduled my appointment on a Thursday afternoon and was very anxious about the procedure. I worried that something might go wrong, or that I wouldn’t be satisfied. (My anxiety level was probably a 9 on a scale of 1 – 10).
Upon checking in on the day of surgery, the staff at Helm were calm and confident. I was given 5mg Valium (which was most helpful). Dr. Helm rechecked my vision and directed me to a waiting area, outside the laser room. I was surprised that there was a window between the waiting area and the operating room. I had the privilege of watching another patient go through the procedure before me. Even though he was quite nervous, I could see that his breathing slowed down after the first eye was treated and I heard him laughing during the second eye. I found this extremely reassuring. When the man sat up, he smiled and I could tell everything went well… I was next…
I lied down on the table and my eyelids were shielded and stabilized. Some measurements were taken and then quite a few anesthetic drops were applied to my right eye (my left eye was covered). Dr. Helm placed some ink marks on my cornea and then positioned the microkeratome over my eye. Once the device was in place, I felt a peculiar suction gently tug on my eye as my vision faded to black (it wasn’t scary, I was prepared that this would happen). There was absolutely no pain– hardly any discomfort… I sensed the laser shaping my eye and I heard a nurse counting some percentage levels (25%… 50%…) I accidentally moved during the procedure, but the laser tracks the eye 400 times per second. I was asked a few times to reposition. The laser fired for about 30 seconds and then the corneal flap was closed. I could already see perfectly at this time. Dr. Helm applied some kind of bonding to the flap for 60 seconds and then repeated the procedure on my left eye. By this time, I was laughing and realizing how silly I was to have been nervous at all. I tried to give thumbs up gestures to the others in the waiting area to reassure them (everyone was nervous).
As I sat up, my vision was slightly cloudy, but already excellent… It only took 10 – 15 minutes once the procedure started. Until this point I had felt no pain… Absolutely zero…
About an hour after the procedure, I tried to sleep at home, but wasn’t really able– the anesthetic wore off and I experienced some discomfort– it kind of felt like I was looking at a bright light, even though my eyes were closed. My eyes were tearing a lot and I could only open them for a second or two at a time. (Discomfort level 4 or 5 out of 10). Luckily, it only lasted for 3 or 4 hours. I slept fine (wearing an eye shield) that night.
When I awoke, I was immediately euphoric. I had absolutely no discomfort and could see PERFECTLY— maybe better than perfect… From my bed, I could look out my window and see amazing detail on hills that were miles away. Crystal clear too. I was elated…
I returned for my follow up visit and tested better than ²⁰⁄₂₀ in both eyes.
Why was I ever nervous for this?!?
I can’t recommend Helm Vision Clinic any better. From start to finish, the entire experience is an A+.

My whole family has been to Dr. Helm for laser eye surgery. I was so impressed when, although lasi
k would be the easiest procedure for him, he decided that my husband and it turns out two of my children needed a more time intensive procedure to improve their vision. Long term, they would have had a risk of thickening corneas. How wonderful for him to catch that at the beginning and avoid problems later on! We are all 5 of us seeing much better and think the world of Dr. Helm!!!