When you first walk into Visionelle Eyecare, you might think you walked into a day spa.
“We like to activate all the senses,” says Owner Dr. Nytarsha Thomas. “When you come in, you will notice that it smells amazing. We will greet you by name and offer you fresh, homemade cookies, water, a glass of wine, whatever you like.”
Thomas officially opened Visionelle Eyecare on December 31, 2015, as a locally owned, woman-owned, black-owned business.
Originally from Houston, Texas, Thomas received her doctorate from Pennsylvania College of Optometry in Philadelphia. In California she discovered that working for a corporate practice offered her less flexibility and allowed her less time to spend with people to take care of their needs.
“If a patient has a problem, I want to sit down and spend as much time as necessary,” she says.
After moving to Indiana in 2013 with her husband, who is a captain for a major airline, she sought to bring her vision for a “whole-souled” optometry practice to life.
“Opening fresh is hard, but I got to create what I like,” Thomas says. “Everything you see here is me. I’m in a position that I can hire people I love.”
R
ae Schaffer, office manager and cookie baker, first met Thomas as one of her patients.
“Now I get to see her every day,” Schaffer says. “She’s really invested in knowing who people are and in knowing how their eye health affects their lives.”
“Not enough people get their eyes checked,” Thomas says. “There is so much more than how far you can see. They say the eyes are the window to the soul – at least to the rest of the body.”
Through the years Thomas has diagnosed tumors, strokes before they happened, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and even STDs.
With a background in pediatric and vision therapy, Thomas sees patients as young as six months old.
“Too much learning happens in young children to cripple them with an undiagnosed eye problem,” she says, encouraging parents not to rely solely on a school vision screening.
“We’re heavy on education,” she says. “We’re also just fun.”
She posts videos on Visionelle’s YouTube channel that aim to educate and entertain.
The practice also hosts a
themed photo shoot each year for their patients, most recently recreating pop art complete with makeup by Optician Coki Price. They display the photos inside and outside the practice for an eye-catching, ultra-personalized touch.
“The patients love it,” Price says.
Visionelle Eyecare is located at 6618 Whitestown Parkway in Zionsville. For more info, call 317-769-3937 or go to visionelleeyecare.com. Also, explore their YouTube channel @visionelleeyecare3882.
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