At Dr. Jessica Palmer’s vision care center, all eyes on Chelsea

Jessica Palmer knew she wanted to work in the medical field, and it was during her junior year of college while shadowing at medical offices that she decided on optometry.

“Every optometrist I shadowed loved their job,” Palmer said. “I wanted something I would love doing every day instead of dreading going to work.”

After graduating from UAB, Palmer worked at Chelsea Eye Care and at a practice in Sylacauga, which she now owns. She moved to Chelsea because it was a central location between the two offices.

“I fell in love with the community and decided to start my own practice here,” she said.

In 2007, she opened Narrows Eye Care off U.S. 280. Nine years later, she opened a second location, the Sylacauga Eye Clinic.

This spring, she moved her practice from the Narrows to inside Chelsea city limits and changed the name. Eyes on Chelsea Vision Care officially opened in its new space April 15.

“It’s nice to be within the Chelsea community where the businesses support each other,” she said.

She continues to split her time between two locations and has added four additional eye care specialists to her staff as the practice has grown. She has five employees in Sylacauga and three in Chelsea.

One of those hires, Dr. Rena Lewis, is a pediatric specialist who spent 20 years working at the Eye Foundation Hospital. She sees patients on Wednesdays from babies to high school age. Other staff include Dr. Leah Kirkemier, Dr. Anita Saxena and Dr. Judson Harrison.

Some of the services offered at Eyes on Chelsea include vision therapy, eye exercises to help strengthen lazy or crossed eyes, working with patients who are difficult to fit in contact lenses and patients with double vision.

Palmer said eye care should begin at an early age. The American Optometry Association recommends children get their initial eye exam around age four and follow up every two years, unless they wear glasses, then yearly appointments are recommended.

“If you start noticing cross eye, they need to get checked before age 2,” she said. “There is a lot more you can do earlier you catch it with glasses or surgery.”

Palmer said she likes challenges and enjoys being able to find what works for her patients to help them see better. The schedule is also manageable as well.

She said this job enables her to spend the most time as possible with her family. Her husband is a sunglasses representative, and her daughter is a second-grader at Chelsea Park Elementary.

“There isn’t a lot of after-hours work or emergencies. There is flexibility in my schedule,” she said.

Eyes on Chelsea is open Monday, Wednesday and Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.; Tuesdays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.; and Fridays from 8:30 a.m. to noon.