Local businesses thank patients

By Rose Sgarlato
ANDOVER — Two neighboring doctor’s offices on Lawrence Road in Newton gave a special shout out to their patients by hosting an ice cream social earlier this month.

Tables, tents, balloons and booths were set up in a cleared section outside in the parking lot where patients and friends of Andover Eye Care and Newton-Sparta Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontics enjoyed live music, karaoke, popcorn and ice cream.

Dr. Amy Lynn Covucci, of Andover Eye Care, coordinates the event with her neighbor Dr. Mike Lateiner, of Newton-Sparta Pediatric Dentistry, to show gratitude.

“This is our second annual, it’s a combined event,” Covucci said. “And it’s just our way of saying thank you.”

Covucci, who is from Lafayette and lives in Andover Township, values the role her hometown connection plays in her business.

“I am a sole practitioner for the past 13 years which is a rarity these days,” she said.

And the doctor did not have to look to far for entertainment inviting her niece and patient 12-year-old Audrey Sacks, of Lafayette, to sing.

Sacks, an eighth grader at Hilltop, considers herself musically inclined singing and playing a variety of instruments for the past three years. Her aunt’s gig was not her first public performance.

“I have done a lot of musical theatre at school, some local open mics and recently a fundraiser for the March of Dimes,” Sacks said.

Newton-Sparta Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontics has been in business for five years catering to infants, children and adolescents with an emphasis on special needs.

“Patient appreciation is important- we want to show our gratitude,” said Dr. Mike Lateiner, D.M.D.

Sisters Mallory and Mackenzie Gass, patients of Lateiners, were happy to leave with a bag of new toothbrushes and toothpaste, but were more excited about the ice cream and making sand art.