Hollister
– Robert Theaker became an optometrist so that he could help
people by improving their eyesight. Now he has his own eyes set on
helping to improve eye care needs at a statewide level.
Hollister – Robert Theaker became an optometrist so that he could help people by improving their eyesight. Now he has his own eyes set on helping to improve eye care needs at a statewide level.
Theaker, a Hollister optometrist, has been elected president of the California Optometric Association, the professional organization representing eye doctors across the state.
“I always wanted to do something health care related,” Theaker said. “This worked out because you don’t have to deal with bloody stuff, but you still get to help people.”
He explained that he never gets tired of the feeling he gets when putting a pair of glasses on the face of a child for the first time.
“It’s really rewarding,” said Theaker. “There’s really nothing as great.”
Theaker has been an optometrist in Hollister for 16 years. He came to the Hollister Vision Center as his first job out of optometry school at University of California-Berkeley. He is now a partner at the Vision Center, which is one of the largest optometric practices in town.
Theaker has been an active member of the California Optometric Association since he first started working as an optometrist in 1991, and has been a member of their board of trustees for almost 10 years. He became involved with the group as a way to meet the vision needs of the people in the state of California.
“The goal for members of the organization is assuring the highest quality of health care through the advancement of optometry,” said the association’s director of marketing and membership, Rita Chen Fujisawa.
The California Optometric Association is the only official representative of optometrists at the statewide level. The association represents the needs of optometrists to the state Legislature and organizes foundations and charity work.
There are two specific programs which Theaker plans to work on during his one-year term as president. Those are the California Vision Foundation, which provides free eye exams to low-income families, and the InfantSEE program, which is organized at the nationwide level, and provides eye exams to infants.
The association represents more than 2,600 optometrists in the state of California. With his more involved role as president, Theaker will be able to pursue what he feels are the current eye-care needs for his community and the state.
“He will be representing the organization and setting the tone and the goals for the organization,” said Fujisawa.
Alice Joy covers education and health care for the Free Lance. You can reach her at (831) 637-5566 ext. 336 or [email protected]
