To be recognized by your peers for a life spent advancing your field and helping others is probably the highest honor anyone can receive in their profession.
Dr. Theodore Walton, of Oxford, was bestowed such an honor when the Michigan Optometric Association (MOA) presented him with a ‘Lifetime Achievement Award? during the organization’s 108th Annual Convention at the Somerset Inn in Troy.
‘I feel honored,? Walton said. ‘This is a pretty prestigious award. There are only a dozen or so people that have this (award) in our profession. The people that I know who have it are pretty outstanding and have done a lot. I hope I’m worthy of it.?
Walton, who’s been practicing optometry in Oxford since 1966, received the award for his decades of involvement in the advancement of his profession.
As a past chair of the Insurance and Vision Care Benefits Committees of the American Optometric Association, Walton said he helped successfully fight the ‘discriminatory practices of insurance companies? when it came to reimbursing patients for eye care.
Helping the public achieve equal and greater access to eye care and the freedom to choose their own eye care provider is a noble legacy of which Walton is quite proud.
Walton is also proud of his role in helping to advance the scope of his profession to include diagnosing and treating eye diseases and eye-related medical conditions. ‘When I first started, you did eye exams, you fit glasses and that was all,? he said.
Walton found this ‘frustrating? because his education and training gave him the knowledge to do much more than the law would allow.
Today, all that has changed in large part due to his own activist efforts. Walton’s business has grown from what began as a one-day-a-week practice 38 years ago to a full primary eye care provider.
‘I’ve enjoyed being part of a profession that was in a mood to expand and wanted to be better than what it was,? he said. ‘It’s been fun to see the evolution (of optometry) over the years.?
For the past 12 years, Walton has served as a current member and former chair of the Michigan State Board of Examiners in Optometry, which essentially helps ‘regulate the profession to protect the public.?
Walton, along with his wife of 38 years Nancy, has also been an active participant in the ‘Opening Eyes? program, which provides vision screening for athletes competing in the summer games of the Michigan Special Olympics at Central Michigan University in Mt. Pleasant. The doctor said it’s ‘one of the biggest programs in the country,? examining an average of 700 to 800 athletes per year.
Despite practicing optometry for four decades and winning a Lifetime Achievement Award, Walton shows no interest in slowing down or retiring.
‘I want to keep going,? he said. ‘I’ve had too much fun with this. I enjoy the town. I enjoy the people in this town. I enjoy my practice here. I haven’t gotten bored with it. Part of the fun is it’s one career, but the career has changed a number of times over the years, so I’m always learning new things.?
Although awards are nice and certainly an honor, for Walton it’s the ‘instant gratification of helping somebody? that makes his profession so personally fulfilling.
‘People come in, they have a problem and it can be dealt with most of the time with positive results,? he said. ‘Vision is 80 percent of what you do, so helping adults and kids see better is very rewarding.?
In addition to his Lifetime Achievement Award, Walton is a past president of the MOA and previous winner of the association’s Optometrist of the Year, Keyperson and Legislative Achivement awards.
Walton continues to practice optometry with his associate Dr. Elizabeth M. Becker in the Oxford Professional Center at 837 S. Lapeer Road.