KINGSTOWNE, Va.—When MyEyeDr. opened its 1,000th office this year, the company chose a location just a few miles from where its story first began. The new Kingstowne, Va. office, opened during the company’s 25th anniversary year, sits near Burke, Va., where MyEyeDr. launched its first practice in 2001. This milestone “offers a rare moment of symmetry for a business that has grown from a single neighborhood office into one of the nation’s largest providers of eyecare,” the company said in an announcement.
For an industry that has spent the last decade navigating consolidation, shifting patient expectations and rapid technological change, the opening is about more than a round number—it reflects how dramatically the landscape of eyecare has evolved and where it may be headed next, the company said.
Today, MyEyeDr. operates 1,000 locations across 29 states and is supported by more than 8,500 doctors, clinicians and associates. Reaching that scale places it among a select group of organizations helping to redefine how Americans access vision care and eyewear, the company notes. Yet for MyEyeDr., the significance of the milestone extends beyond growth. As eyecare organizations expand, they face a fundamental challenge: how to deliver the consistency and convenience that scale can provide while preserving the personal relationships patients value most, the company said.
“MyEyeDr. has built its brand around that balance, emphasizing local doctor relationships, personalized care and community connection even as its footprint has expanded nationwide,” the announcement stated.
Sue Downes.
“While 1,000 offices is an incredible achievement, what matters most is what it represents: the trust patients have placed in us over the last 25 years,” said Sue Downes, co-founder and CEO of MyEyeDr. “My father’s health challenges showed me how impersonal health care can become when the process outweighs people. We wanted to build something different, where patients feel known, cared for and supported.”
With an aging population, increasing rates of myopia and growing awareness of the role comprehensive eye exams play in detecting broader health conditions, the importance of routine vision care continues to be elevated, MyEyeDr. said. As demand for eyecare continues to grow, the company believes that supporting optometrists in practicing to the full extent of their education and training will be increasingly important for meeting patient needs and expanding access to care. Advances in diagnostic technology, artificial intelligence and changing patient expectations will also reshape how care is delivered.
Against that backdrop, MyEyeDr. said the opening of its 1,000th location serves as both a milestone and a marker of where the profession is headed. “The next chapter for the industry will not simply be defined by growth, but by how effectively organizations can use scale to expand access, enhance patient experiences and strengthen clinical outcomes,” the company said.
For MyEyeDr., the journey from one office in Burke to 1,000 locations nationwide reflects 25 years of growth. For the broader eyecare industry, MyEyeDr. believes it underscores a larger question: how can organizations continue to grow while keeping patient care at the center of every decision?
“Twenty-five years in the making. One thousand locations later. We’re just getting started,” Downes concluded.
