On February 28, 2022, we threw Dr. Hammond a retirement party. He has served us and his patients for 38 years and we can’t thank him enough for his service. It’s clear that he will be dearly missed, given the outpouring of comments on our Facebook farewell post. Below you’ll find a retirement letter from Dr. Hammond, his tribute slideshow, and a gallery of photos from the party.

Dear patients,

It is with mixed emotions that I announce that I have ended my optometric career. It doesn’t seem that long ago when, in 1984, my wife and I moved from Ohio to Fuquay-Varina to join Dr. Al Johnson, Dr. Bob Johnson, and Dr. Rick Hartman at Johnson Optometric Associates. Over the past few months, I have been able to personally thank many of you at the office at your last appointment. I wish I could have been able to thank everyone personally but unfortunately, it is not possible, so I’m writing this letter to express my heartfelt appreciation to all the patients who I have examined over the past 38 years. It has been my privilege to see each and every one of you. I am honored that you have trusted me to take care of your eyes, and for referring your family and friends to our office. It has been fun to see and provide care for the children and grandchildren of so many of my patients over the years. I will miss taking care of you in the future, but I know that I am leaving you in great hands with Doctors Johnson, May, Martin, and Clinard.

I have been blessed to have had such great partners, and we together developed a plan to offer our patients quality vision care in a friendly environment. I want to thank them for helping me grow as an individual and an optometrist. Over the years, I have seen our offices grow from 12 to over 40 employees. We have increased our office space, added state-of-the-art technologies and computer systems to offer our patients high-quality eyecare. Now we have 4 practitioners with the addition of partners Dr. Andrew May, Dr. Barrett Martin, and also our newest associate Dr. Cameron Clinard. 

I would also like to thank all of the staff that has worked in the practice over my career. Many of them are still working at the office, and a few of them were working here before I joined the practice!  We have such a great staff who are dedicated to our practice and our patients. They have made coming to work enjoyable and have helped me be a better optometrist over the years. They are the backbone of the office and I appreciate everything they do on a daily basis. I have fond memories of meeting their families, going to hockey games, and our annual Christmas parties.  I will miss them all and I know they will continue to provide excellent care to our patients.

I look forward to my life after optometry. I really don’t have a bucket list. My wife Lisa and I enjoy being at home with our three dogs, doing yard work, and cooking for friends, but we do plan on spending more time traveling to see our three children and granddaughter. I assume I’ll be on the golf course more often and making some new furniture in my woodshop for the family. I already have an order for a kitchen table for my son! Please stay healthy and may God bless you and your family!

Best Regards,

Dr. Hammond

Watch Dr. Hammond’s Retirement Tribute Video:

Photo Gallery from his Office Retirement Party:

Dr. Cameron Clinard grew up in Bath, North Carolina. Dr. Clinard attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She received her Doctor of Optometry from Southern College of Optometry (SCO) in Memphis, Tennessee in 2017. Immediately following her graduation from SCO, she completed a one-year primary eye care residency with a focus in geriatrics and ocular disease at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Memphis.

Dr. Clinard joined Johnson Optometric Associates in 2020. She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry, as well as a member of the American Optometric Association and the North Carolina State Optometric Society. She has special interests in glaucoma and retinal disease. Dr. Clinard enjoys music, traveling, spending time with her family, and cheering on the UNC Tar Heels, Carolina Panthers, and Memphis Grizzlies. She and her husband, also named Cameron, live in Fuquay-Varina with their son and two dogs.

Dear patients,

Things continue to go well here at Johnson Optometric Associates! Our office hours are still normal. We still have a backlog of patients from being closed during 2020, so we are trying to get caught up. We appreciate your continued patience as we try to see as many patients as we can.

Please be rest assured!

The most important thing to us is the health and safety of our patients and team members. In our usual form, we’re going above and beyond to protect everyone who comes into the office. Therefore, we want to prepare you for what you can expect when scheduling and arriving for your appointment.

What you can expect from the Johnson Optometric Associates team:

In order to minimize viral exposure risk, team members will not report to work if they have any symptoms or if they suspect that they may have been exposed.

All of our team members will have their temperatures checked upon arrival for work. All of our team members will be wearing masks and protective gear at all times while in the office.

What you can expect as a Johnson Optometric Associates patient:

Your well-being is our top priority! We are pre-screening every patient prior to their appointment. Patients who show any signs or symptoms of COVID are being rescheduled for a later day.

Before you arrive: We kindly ask that you wear a mask to your appointment. We will only be permitting scheduled patients into the office, unless you are a parent of a patient who is 18 years of age or younger or a patient’s caregiver.

Below, you will find the additional precautionary and screening measures to expect:

• When you arrive, you can come to the front doors. Unless the lobby is “full”, you will be able to wait in the lobby for your appointment.
• Temperatures will be taken upon arrival with a touch-free thermometer. Patients with readings over 100 degrees will be rescheduled.
• You must complete and sign the “Patient Advisory and Acknowledgment” form prior to entering the office.
• Social distancing measures will be expected in the lobby and throughout the entire office.

We sincerely appreciate your continued support and look forward to treating you and your families!!

All the best,
Johnson Optometric Associates

In late 2019 the doctors got together and decided that in honor of our 70th anniversary in 2020 we would pick 12 local charities or organizations to donate a portion of our optical sales to. We have a strong heart and passion for our community and we wanted to do all we could to show our support for those who also support our community. The goal was to highlight one organization a month throughout our social media, emails, and both locations. While 2020 didn’t pan out the way we thought it would, (for obvious reasons) because of you, we were still able to financially support 9 organizations. Thank you for your continued support for Johnson Optometric and for allowing us to serve not only you but our community as well.

Below is the list of all 9 organizations: 

Military Missions in Action
Banded Brothers
Fuquay-Varina Food Pantry
Community of Hope
Christian Library International Prison Alliance
Amazing Grace Adoptions
Your Choice Pregnancy Clinic
Fellow of Christian Athletes
Garner Rotary Club

Dr. Martin and Dr. May are thrilled to accept the Presidency in 2020!! Thank you for your votes!! Here they give their acceptance speech and look forward to serving you for the next four years. However, their speech is cut short by an unexpected phone call and a shocking turn of events…

With just a week to go until the vote, Dr. May and Dr. Martin meet to discuss their separate campaigns. With a nod to “Say Anything”, here is their final campaign video! After reuniting again, they are asking for your vote for 2020!!

It’s a crazy, insane, COVID-19 kind of year, not the 2020 we hoped for!! But Dr. May and Dr. Martin are embracing their masks the best that they can! Join them and Yoana and Hanna as they dance to Michael Jackson’s “Bad” while singing about the joys of mask-wearing!

Dr. Martin and Dr. May split their candidacy for President a few months ago… Well, things are getting pretty ugly between the two sides as they are both releasing ads smearing their opponents in the upcoming election. Some nasty accusations are being thrown around. Hopefully, the candidates can sort of their differences before November! Both candidates hope they have your vote in 2020!!

Watch our previous campaign videos:

As such, Johnson Optometric Associates will be opening both offices full-time on Monday for all of your eye care needs. We will be very careful to limit the amount of people in the office, so our schedule will be lighter than normal. Please continue to be patient with us as we do our best to reschedule patients from March and April, and also as we adjust our schedules for May and June.

Please be rest assured!

The most important thing to us is the health and safety of our patients and team members. In our usual form, we’re going above and beyond to protect everyone who comes into the office. Therefore, we want to prepare you for what you can expect when scheduling and arriving for your appointment.

What you can expect from the Johnson Optometric Associates team:

To ensure a virus-free setting, team members will not report to work if they have any symptoms or if they suspect that they may have been exposed.

All of our team members will have their temperatures checked upon arrival for work. All of our team members will be wearing masks and protective gear at all times while in the office.

What you can expect as a Johnson Optometric Associates patient:

Your well being is our top priority! We are diligently working to ensure that we are only seeing healthy patients. We do this by pre-screening every patient prior to their appointment. Patients who show any signs or symptoms are being rescheduled for a later day.

Before you arrive: We kindly ask that you wear a mask to your appointment. We will only be permitting scheduled patients into the office, unless you are a parent of a patient who is 12 years of age or younger or a patient’s care giver. Again, we want to ensure safety for all, so we regret that additional guests are not permitted in the lobby at this time.

Below, you will find the additional precautionary and screening measures to expect:

• When you arrive, call the front desk and our team member will come out to your car to check you in
• Temperatures will be taken upon arrival with a touch-free thermometer. Patients with readings over 100.4 degrees will be rescheduled
• You must complete and sign the “Patient Advisory and Acknowledgement” form prior to entering the office – DOWNLOAD THE FORM
• Social distancing measures will be expected in the lobby and throughout the entire office
• All amenities have been removed; magazines, kids play area are no longer in use

We sincerely appreciate your continued support and look forward to treating you and your families!!

All the best,
Johnson Optometric Associates

While we may not be operating at full capacity, Johnson Optometric is committed to taking care of you, our patient. Throughout this uncertain time, we’ve received several common questions about our operating hours, what we can and can’t do, and how to handle currently scheduled appointments. Below is a list of answers to the most common questions we’ve received over the last several days. If you do not see your question below, please email us and we’ll be happy to assist you.

Are you currently seeing patients?

Due to CDC recommendations, we can only see urgent or emergency cases.

What is an example of an emergency?

Examples of an emergency include:
You’ve broken your glasses and can not see without them.
You are showing signs of possible pink eye or an eye infection.
You are experiencing a dramatic change or loss of vision, eye pain, eye injury, or new floaters or flashes of light in your vision.

If you’re unsure if your situation is an emergency, email us and we will respond as fast as we can.

What are my options for being seen?

Telemedicine – We are able to virtually see patients through video chatting. To schedule a telemedicine appointment, please call the Fuquay Office at (919) 552-3181

Office Visit – Our Fuquay office is open Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 9 AM to  2 PM.

When you arrive for your appointment, please stay parked in your car and call us to let us know you’ve arrived.

What if I already have an appointment scheduled over the next two months?

Our office will call you as it gets closer to your appointment to either confirm or reschedule.

Can I order new contacts?

Yes. You can order new contacts over the phone or through email. We offer free shipping on 2 or more boxes. If your prescription is expired, the FDA has allowed us to be lenient.

I’ve recently ordered glasses – will I be notified of their arrival and how can I get them?

When your glasses arrive, we’ll call you to let you know they are in and schedule either a curbside pickup time or mail them to you (standard shipping rates apply).

Again, if you have any questions, please email us.