New Optometrist Opens Practice in O'Fallon

For Dr. Joe Hegyi, understanding his patients is easy. After all, he is one of them.

“I’ve always liked the idea of helping people out, and I’ve always needed eyeglasses or contacts, so it’s something I really experienced firsthand being nearsighted,” said Hegyi. “A lightbulb went off in my head, and I thought that this is where I can have an immediate impact on somebody and help them right away.”

And that was the thought behind founding O’Fallon Family Eyecare. The establishment, which opened its doors at the beginning of May, is now starting to build a client base, said Hegyi, an Indiana native who resides in O’Fallon.

The Purdue University graduate, who also earned a degree from the Illinois College of Optometry, offers eye exams and checkups but also boasts a wider array of services.

“We also deal with a lot of medical issues, people who have problems with their eyes because they are itchy or watery,” he said. “Pink eye, glaucoma, cataracts. It’s a full-range job.”

Hegyi said common causes of eye problems can often be overlooked. One example being dry eyes, which can often cause irritation.

“People will come in and say, ‘Doc, my contact lenses are uncomfortable, and my last doctor changed my contacts, but it didn’t help,’” he said. “If you go and do the right testing, you can treat the underlying condition.”

And finding that underlying condition is less invasive than ever, he said. Hegyi has brought in new technology that allows him to do the traditional eye pressure test without the brief puff of air that many patients find uncomfortable.

Hegyi also has FreeForm progressive lenses which his website states use dual surface technology to eliminate the “sway and swim” of older progressive lenses.

Another service offers digital refraction to ease the process of finding the correct lenses. The high tech system can even show the patient two lens options at the same time on a split screen as opposed to the traditional switching back and forth from one view to another, Hegyi said.

“It’s all computerized,” he said. “I can press one button and show them their new prescription compared to their old prescription. I can ask ‘Is it worth making a new pair of glasses for that?’”

That modern feeling carries over to the décor of the office, which Hegyi said he largely designed himself. It’s not the only do-it-yourself work he’s done at O’Fallon Family Eyecare. He wrote his own software program for the filing system.

“Everything’s brand new and we’re very state of the art. I wanted to make it look different than other offices, especially as compared to a chain or a strip mall,” he said. “Just walking in, you are going to notice something different about it with the layout and the comfort factor.”

He also wants the experience to seem as though it’s not a chain in other ways. The idea is getting to talk to those he serves on a personal level rather than just doing high volume, he said.

Back in Indiana, he ran his own office for six years, he said. The independence is a feeling he likes.

“That’s the best part about it,” he said. “That’s why I wanted to go into my own practice, so I can slow down, get to know the patients and learn about them.”

He’s also gotten a chance to learn about O’Fallon. A resident since 2004, he lives with his wife and two children.

He said he thinks the municipality boasts excellent schools, services and people.

“When I opened my practice, I knew that I wanted to work here,” he said. “I lived here, and I didn’t want to look anywhere else.”