Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Wes Wheadon.
Dr. Wes, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I graduated from the Los Angeles College of Optometry in 1972 after earning a bachelor of Arts at UCLA. Born and raised in Los Angeles, I worked for an ophthalmology group for 4 years then opened my private practice in Hollywood, a year later moving to the 9201 Sunset Medical Building where I practiced until 1982. I relocated to the then Safeway Shopping Center at Santa Monica and Robertson where I remained until the center remodeled in 2007 when I moved to my current location at 8240 Santa Monica Blvd in West Hollywood. I have been in that location ever since.
During my career, I was privileged to meet and care for many members of the Hollywood, Political, Society and Business communities.
During the my years in practice, I gained extensive experience in all forms of eye care, specializing in vision correction with both eyeglasses and contact lenses, for some of the most difficult vision correction problems including keratoconus -an anomaly caused by an irregular shaped cornea, and rehabilitation of retinal problems from degenerative changes and circulatory problems, and treating vision difficulties caused by less than acceptable results of refractive surgery procedures.
I am proud to have the same skilled staff for over 30 years. They know their business and we work as a team to take the best care possible of those who entrust their eyes and vision to us.
Our motto is Knowledge-Skill-Experience for Your Eyes.
Has it been a smooth road?
I have always had a clear goal in my business life. To deliver honest, caring and efficient service and materials at a fair cost. Running a business that involves personal interaction with all sorts of people under all sorts of economic and personality variations can be challenging. Being in a solo practice, you have no one to blame or compliment but yourself. I take full responsibility for all that goes on in my practice. People come to my business for all types of help. Some are in pain, some are in need, all want my help. I never take a personal interaction with a patient lightly. I give 100 % to each and every individual I meet.
Financially speaking, my business is much the same as any retail/service business. We have costs of sales, and of overhead and of salary like any operation. I must do what is best for my business and for the people I serve, and sometimes that is not easy.
Today’s market place with increasing internet sales of goods gives the impression that simply purchasing at the lowest cost will provide the same result as purchasing from a service oriented office like mine, and this often is found not to be the case. People return with their heads down confessing that they bought something online, and that it doesn’t work for them. The online cost is lost and they must spend time and money to get it right.
So far, as personal struggles in running a business over the years I have been in practice, yes there have been struggles. Health, financial, operational, and the stress of running a business all have presented struggles, but they have been successfully over come to this point.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Dr. D Wes Wheadon, Optometry – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
We are a full-service eye care office. We do comprehensive eye examinations checking all aspects of eye health and vision. Diseases of the eye and the general body are detected, and treated or referred to the appropriate specialist if necessary during this examination. In office, we can treat infections of the eye surface and the eye lid, we can test for and detect glaucoma (dangerously high pressure in the eye that damages the optic nerve and causes vision loss), cataracts, macular degeneration, retinal damage due to detachments of the retina and circulatory damage from blood clots, as well as problems from diabetes, elevated cholesterol, high blood pressure and internal ocular hemorrhages. Loss of vision due to tumors of the eye, brain and visual pathways can be detected as well.
We consult and inform on the various types of refractive surgery including LASIK, PRK, Radial Keratotomy, Corneal Transplants, Keratoconus, and repairs caused by injury to the eye from penetrating object, metallic foreign bodies, and trauma from fast moving objects, (fists-racket and other types of balls, and head injury from accidents).
We have an extensive resources for referral to specialists when needed for surgery or treatments outside the scope of my practice.
We are known for spending all the needed time to handle what needs to be done. No 5 minutes with the doctor and visits from 4 assistants, only to leave without really knowing what is up!
I am proud of the tradition we have created, it keeps people coming back year after year, bringing their parents, spouses, friends, children and now even grand children in for their eye care needs.
All eye doctors learn the same knowledge and skill. Not all practice the way we do. I would like to be a patient in my own office or one run the way mine runs. Do unto others….
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
West Hollywood is run pretty well overall, it runs the city well for residents and businesses. Traffic and parking can be a problem. Homeless people are all around, and they have no public bathroom facilities, which causes those people to do elimination anywhere they happen to be. It is a problem.
If I were king I would have public facilities every few blocks like they do in Paris. It would be the right thing to do.
Pricing:
- Examination fees range from $45 up to several hundred depending on what is needed.
Contact Info:
- Address: 8240 Santa Monica Blvd
West Hollywood, CA 90046 - Website: www.weswheadon.com
- Phone: 323 654 5600
- Email: info@weswheadon.com
- Facebook: Dr. Wes Wheadon Optometrist
- Yelp: Dr Wes Wheadon
Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
Stephen Dolainski
June 6, 2017 at 01:06
I’d had a terrible experience with another doctor and a friend recommended Dr. Wes. I have been a patient of Dr. Wes’s for more than 20 years. He’s absolutely right when he says he will spend whatever time and attention it takes to treat you. He did it with me the first time I saw him, and he has continued to do it ever since.