Dr. Kurt Skinner: Grounded in the Community

My wife and Partner at Brookside Optometric Group, Dr. Linda Hsu, are celebrating our 34th year in Practice Living here in Stockton. We now realize that we have called Stockton “Home” far longer longer than we have lived in any other community in our lives! Through the help and support of my fellow Doctors of Optometry at Brookside, I have developed a bit of a specialty in fitting contact lenses on scarred or irregular eyes—corneas with surface irregularities that are unable to provide a good refracting surface to focus vision, even with glasses.

By providing these specialty-type of contact lenses, patients can often stay functional in driving, continue working, and lead a much more fulfilling life. The reward of assisting someone with more clear and comfortable vision is a feeling I am fortunate to experience every day.

Another great advantage of practicing with Brookside Optometric Group is the focus on community involvement. The people we’ve met and the organizations we’ve been associated with show the spirit and pride of the Valley. Local festivals and celebrations profile all the various cultures that make up this great city, and allow us to share in their cultures and experiences.

Some of our closest friends have evolved from the committees we have sat on, including Brookside Elementary School, the preservation of Pixie Woods, and the Legacy of Hoover-Tyler Little League. We’ve also supported the YMCA, and gone on camping trips with the Adventure Guides. Throughout the school year, we’ve had the privilege to support school music programs, the band, and sports and other activities. We’ve also discovered and supported various community programs through the “Tapestry” of Quail Lakes Baptist Church.

I am fortunate in many ways to have the group of Brookside Doctor Partners that I have here in our practice. They are really the “Cream of the Crop” and the top of our profession. From the start, they foretold how our community involvement and the friends that we keep would coincide with the growth and development of our children. Now when I think back to all the community associations we have been involved with, they were absolutely correct!

Participation in this wonderful Partnership at Brookside reinforces peer support in the ongoing pursuit of education and improved technology—they encourage me to be a better doctor to live up to the Partnership. At our doctor meetings, we discuss the various community groups we belong to, and the aspects of support they provide. These various perspectives provide each of us with “the vision” to see the needs in the community outside of our immediate world, and provide resources to the causes and charities that we support.

Whether we can pull together to do a vision screening, or contribute to a cause that one of our staff members can relate to us, or contribute a scholarship to provide a bit of financial relief to an outstanding graduating high school senior, we are committed to giving back. Many of you who follow us on Facebook have a glimpse into some of our activities and purpose here at Brookside Optometric Group, and we are proud to make a difference in the community we share.