Owner, Optometrist, Legacy Eyecare
With three generations of eye professionals behind her, it is easy to see how Dr. Sarah Lunsford found herself on a similar path. Her family history in and around optometry dates back to the late 1800s, when her great-great-grandfather moved to Stuttgart to become a jeweler and frequently worked on glasses. Realizing a longtime dream of opening her own practice last year, Lunsford was intentional about paying homage to her predecessors.
“Legacy Eyecare is a nod to that family history, and my logo features a diamond as the pupil, representing the jewelry side, as well as [Arkansas] being the Diamond State,” she said. “In my clinic, I get to showcase my grandfather’s appointment book from 1959 in an antique cabinet from his practice. The appointment book is surrounded by antique glasses my great-great-uncle prescribed for his patients between 1916 and the 1940s.”
Lunsford graduated from the University of Central Arkansas in Conway in 2004 before earning her optometry credentials from the Southern College of Optometry in Memphis in 2008. Being able to open her own clinic has been a long time coming, she said, and every step along the way set her up for her current success. Rounding out her skills as a physician with those of a business owner has been a challenge to be sure — “It can be like doing mental gymnastics some days” switching between both mindsets, she said — but outside support and her “God-given passion” has helped her navigate the uncertain terrain.
“Thankfully, I found a great consultant company to guide me,” she said. “Initially, I didn’t even know where to begin — what do you do first? Form your business entity? Find a location? Meet with a lawyer? Name your clinic? Design a logo? Having their guidance and experience was vital to my success.”
What is more, Lunsford is the first eye care provider to serve the community she has lived in for 15 years now, East End. While that distinction “has been an honor,” she said, Lunsford is also no stranger to blazing new trails concerning access to eye care.
“I was the first optometrist to staff a school-based health clinic in the state of Arkansas,” she said. “I served the Bryant school district and paved the way for other schools to expand into similar programs.”
Currently secretary and treasurer on the board of the Arkansas Optometric Association, in addition to serving as convention chair, Lunsford has dedicated herself to growing the profession. She has mentored several college and high school students over the years, including two preoptometry students working in her office this summer. Lunsford said she hopes to mentor many more future colleagues as she helps Arkansas continue to draw some of “the best and brightest” to the state and to the field of optometry.
“I think optometry is one of the most rewarding professions you can be in,” she said. “Like any healthcare field, you need to love what you do. The time and money and energy it takes to become a doctor is no small thing, but the time you will spend in your occupation is much greater. If it’s something you love or have a passion for, it will be worth it in the end.”
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