Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Adam Young and Dr. Christina Phan. They and their team shared their story with us below:
Husband and Wife duo Dr. Adam Young and Dr. Christina Phan joined their experiences and dreams together to start a new venture. In late December 2020, in the midst of a pandemic, First Class Eye Care opened its doors to the community as a minority-owned private eye care practice, with a mission to provide first-class service to the community.
Dr. Young is a native of Stone Mountain, GA. He graduated from Stone Mountain High School in 2001 and then earned his Bachelor of Science in Biology at the University of Georgia in 2005. After working in the optical industry and becoming a Licensed Dispensing Optician, he was then accepted into the Southern College of Optometry in Memphis, TN, where he earned his Doctorate of Optometry. After graduating, he completed a post-doctoral residency at Woolfson Eye Institute in Atlanta, GA, specializing in the co-management of refractive/ocular surgery and ocular disease.
Entrepreneurship was always in Dr.Young’s blood, as his late father owned a small computer programming business in the small town of Alliance, Ohio. Seeing how his father had a connection with the community through his services while also giving back to his community through many acts of selfless service was always an inspiration. Dr. Young’s mother never settled in her expectations of what he could become and raised him to be a hard worker and think on his own while also teaching him to remain humble and give back selflessly. With his upbringing, it was only a matter of time before his passion and dreams would become a reality.
Dr. Christina Phan is a native of Chantilly, VA. She graduated from Chantilly High School in 2006, and then earned her Bachelor of Science in Biology at Virginia Commonwealth University in 2010. She was then accepted into the Southern College of Optometry in Memphis, TN, where she earned her Doctorate of Optometry. After graduating, she completed a post-doctoral residency at the Baltimore VA Medical Center in Baltimore, Maryland, specializing the ocular disease.
For Dr. Phan, her hustle and drive grew from seeing how hard her immigrant parents worked and sacrificed, working multiple jobs throughout the day to be able to provide for her and her siblings. Thinking of her upbringing, and in particular her relationship with her mother, has always allowed her to reach deep inside and emulate her mother’s strength, allowing her to reach higher and higher to be able to overcome any obstacle in front of her.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Our biggest challenge as new business owners in healthcare was that we opened cold, which means we had ZERO patient following, as Dr. Young was previously practicing in Woodstock, GA, and Dr. Phan in Chantilly, VA – so although we were open, it was not uncommon for our patient schedule to be completely empty; even more so as Atlanta is heavily saturated with established competition. However, we braced and prepared ourselves for that challenge and were confident that once a patient walked through our doors, they would understand and see very quickly how great we are at what we do. As we enter year three, we are starting to see the fruits of our labor. Our patients have recognized our efforts as they have voted us as the “Best of Gwinnett” in eye care, which is a local community accolade we feel proud to have earned twice now (2021 and 2022) after only being open for such a short time. We were also nominated the past two years for the Gwinnett Chamber Launch Award, which recognizes new businesses that are well on its way to becoming a thriving pillar in the Gwinnett community. We are also very proud to continue to have a perfect 5-star Google rating, where many patients leave glowing reviews about their experience with us.
We believe that we are the best in what we do, but more importantly care about our community and all the lives we touch, and we continue to push forward one day at a time by helping our patients see better, feel better, and live better.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
First Class Eye Care is located in Gwinnett County, Georgia, which ranks as one of the top 5 most diverse counties in the entire United States. It was important for us to open in an area where patients could have doctors who look like them (Dr. Young being the only African American eye doctor in Duluth, and Dr. Phan being the only Vietnamese eye doctor in Duluth). Trust is an essential component to healthcare, and having doctors who look like you and better understand you can sometimes play an important role when receiving care, especially so seeing that minority populations deal with higher rates of glaucoma, diabetes, and hypertension, which all have potential to cause blindness. Having said that, our office takes pride in breaking the mold and reinventing the exam process to ensure our patients see better, feel better, and live better. We use state-of-the-art equipment to enhance the patient experience (no eye puffs here!), as well as to help with the early detection of eye diseases such as glaucoma, macular degeneration, cataracts, and examining for systemic conditions that can cause blindness such as Diabetes and Hypertension. We provide a patient-focused experience with emphasis on improving the quality of life and overall health through education, prevention, and early detection. In doing so our commitment is not just in meeting our patient’s expectations but in exceeding them.
Our office also has a bright, inviting optical space featuring a carefully curated selection of independent frame lines not readily found anywhere else. The frame lines carried are handmade from all over the world – France, Spain, Africa, Japan, Italy, and Denmark to name a few. We are entering a time where eyewear is becoming more and more an accessory where people are having more than just one pair of glasses either based on their fashion sense or their personality. We take pride in our optical by offering stylish, luxury, high-quality eyewear that you can’t just find anywhere.
Separate from our state of the art exams, luxury eyewear frames, and phenomenal customer service, we believe what sets us apart the most is our shared passion for giving back to our community. From day one, it was important for us to give back. Specifically, we have an amazing partnership with a local non-profit organization called Boy With a Ball, where to date we have provided free comprehensive eye exams and eyeglasses to over 100 people, many of whom had never had an eye exam before. It’s an amazing feeling to know we play a part in helping our patients and community turn blurry memories into vivid, extraordinary ones. Being connected to those moments is priceless.
The crisis has affected us all in different ways. How has it affected you and any important lessons or epiphanies you can share with us?
Opening in the midst of a pandemic was extremely risky. There were so many unknowns about the virus we knew it would take time for people to feel comfortable having face to face contact, even despite having masks, temperature, and cleaning protocols in place. The other challenging part was our local government mandated that optometrists could only see emergency only visits during this time (ie, pink eye, piece a metal in the eye, eye infection for contact lens wear), and that routine care was to be put on hold until further notice. So planning, construction, permits, loans, and all the other important logistics of opening a new business was tough. There was always a bit of an unknown when we would be able to open, but we were blessed to get through that challenging time and serve our community safely and confidently.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.firstclasseyecare.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/firstclasseyecare
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/firstclasseyecare
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/firstclasseye
Image Credits
Dan Moore
