We are committed to the protection and preservation of the precious gift of sight. Our eye doctors and entire staff will do everything possible to merit the confidence you show in our practice by allowing us to provide for your eye care needs. We are honored that you have entrusted your vision to us. Nothing is more important than your eyesight…that’s the way the doctors of Eye Care Specialists see it!
Eye Care Specialists is a state-of-the-art practice that initiated multi-specialty ophthalmology in Southeast Missouri. Our eye doctors are eye care surgeons who collaborate in the area of complex ophthalmologic conditions that warrant the expertise of ophthalmologists with fellowship training. Eye Care Specialists is progressive in being high-tech, while preserving a service-oriented focus in “caring for the needs of your special eyes.”
David J. Westrich, MD, FACS, returned to his hometown of Cape Girardeau, MO, after completing his vitreoretinal surgery fellowship in Nashville, Tenn. In 1991, Dr. Westrich founded Cape Retinal Surgery Center, a practice specializing in vitreoretinal disease and surgery.
The practice quickly grew from a retinal office to a multi-specialty ophthalmology practice in 1998 with the addition of fellowship-trained surgeons and satellite locations in three states (Missouri, Illinois, and Kentucky). The name was changed to Eye Care Specialists to encompass the various divisions of clinical ophthalmology specialization.
The specializations of Eye Care Specialists expanded to include corneal conditions and LASIK laser vision correction in 1998 when corneal and refractive specialist, D. Shawn Parker, MD, FACS, moved to Cape Girardeau from Kentucky to join the practice.
Services were further extended, both clinically and geographically, when general ophthalmologist, Brad Stuckenschneider, MD, FACS, joined the practice in 2003 and became director of a new facility in Poplar Bluff, MO.
Eye Care Specialists saw significant growth in both physicians and services, most recently with the integration of Eye Consultants, Inc. In 2018, general ophthalmologists Todd Lumsden, DO, FAOCO, and John Kinder, MD, FACS, became partners of Eye Care Specialists. Combining expertise, skills, and technology not only enhanced our wide range of services but also the areas we serve by adding locations in Perryville, MO, and Dexter, MO.
In 2019, the practice grew again with the addition of a second retinal specialist, Tatyana I. Metelitsina, MD, who added services to our Carbondale, IL location every Monday.
Our continued growth facilitates our mission to provide the highest quality of specialized and comprehensive eye care to patients in a caring, personalized, and service-oriented environment across the tri-state area.
“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”
-Mahatma Gandhi
At Eye Care Specialists, we do not just want to meet your expectations but exceed them. If we fell short, please let us know how we can improve. If we did something great, we of course love to hear those experiences as well, to know we are on the right track!
