Kathy Erickson started at Wilmington Eye 15 years ago with no medical experience but immersed herself in learning. Now, as CEO, she is leading the way for the practice to help those in need of eye care across the Cape Fear region.
 
After earning her bachelor’s degree in engineering from N.C. State University, Erickson started her career in the paper industry and worked there for the first 10 years of her career. After deciding that she “preferred business to steel-toed shoes,” she went to night school for her MBA at the University of North Carolina Wilmington.
 
Erickson’s next job was as a business development manager for Coca-Cola, serving the Southeastern North Carolina territory. It was where she got “her first taste in finance.” She declined an offer to move to Mobile, Alabama, and went to work at UNCW in graduate program administration instead.
 
After getting a tip from an assistant dean at UNCW, Erickson applied for a job at Wilmington Eye as a practice administrator, got the job and worked her way up the ranks to executive director. This summer, Erickson was named Wilmington Eye’s first CEO.
 
“I take everything I have learned in various positions and apply the best practices from various industries to the job,” Erickson said. “Being able to help people see better is what motivates me as well as knowing I work for a group of fantastic doctors who are ethical and compassionate and really good, and their outcomes are fantastic.”
 
Wilmington Eye has grown to nine locations and added a new surgery center at 1919 S. 16th St., which is set to open with full Medicare accreditation this fall. Some self-pay, elective procedures will be offered before then.
 
The 15,500-square-foot facility has six procedure rooms, three rooms on one side and three on the other. Wilmington Eye will open at 50% capacity, using only one side initially.
 
“We built it with room to grow,” Erickson said.
 
The facility has two operating rooms and four procedure rooms with a total of 24 bays for pre- and post-procedure phases.
 
Cataracts surgery is the most common surgery conducted by Wilmington Eye and its six cataract surgeons with an average of 5,000 surgeries a year. With the addition of the new surgery center, they expect to do 7,000 cataracts surgeries a year.
 
Wilmington Eye serves patients “as far north as Jacksonville, as far west as Whiteville, and as far south as Carolina Shores,” Erickson said.
 
It serves Onslow, Pender, Brunswick and New Hanover counties. Columbus and Bladen counties have no full-time ophthalmic surgeons there, so Wilmington Eye works with Columbus Regional Healthcare System to use one of its exam rooms to see patients and operates in their facility. It does not have a location to do this in Bladen County, but Erickson said Wilmington Eye is working on that currently. It also uses space at Pender Memorial Hospital in Burgaw.
 
“We recognize the rural areas in our area are underserved. It is important to serve these communities,” Erickson said.
 
Erickson attributes the organization’s success to the collective aspiration of helping patients to see their best.
 
“It is the shared vision of our partners, nine ophthalmologists who are truly in sync with their commitments to patients,” Erickson said. “Although we have gotten really big, we stand by that core value.”
 
The goal of the practice is to help patients achieve all of their eye care needs in one place.
 
“We are a comprehensive practice that offers just everything they’re going to need. From infants to geriatrics, 0-100, young and old, we help with glasses with our optical shop as an auxiliary offering. We want to help patients handle everything,” Erickson said.
 
With more than 100 optometrists in the area sending them regular referrals, Wilmington Eye wants to make it convenient for patients to reach them.
 
Wilmington Eye specializes in cataract, refractive, cornea, glaucoma, pediatric and oculoplastic surgeries, as well as preventative care and full-service optical shops.
 
Its team of ophthalmologists and sub-specialists provides patients with full-service care.
 
When deciding where to open a new center, Erickson said she uses her prior training and experience to make the best, most-informed decision.
 
“It’s all about data. That’s when my engineering background comes into play. Without data, we cannot solve the problem,” Erickson said.
 
Using the latest demographic data, Wilmington Eye recently decided to open a new medical clinic in Scotts Hill and its newest location, Wilmington Eye Surgery Center, close to New Hanover Regional Medical Center.
 
The next frontier is the Leland area, where they just went under contract on land in Brunswick Forest.
 
“We had been talking about Leland for a while, and we decided to make that move,” Erickson said.
 
There will be five providers in the Leland primary office with specialists rotating through.
 
The location close to the planned community of Liberty Senior Living will address some of the issues of caring for a population that is living longer, healthier lives.
 
“One of the challenges is the demand for eye care in an aging population and for those with ocular diseases. More and more patients need to have eye surgery,” Erickson said.
 
Erickson said she appreciates the path that led her to where she is now.
 
“Every day is different, and I am thankful for every job I have had and every step I have taken that has led me to where I am now,” Erickson said. “I know we are helping patients and there’s a lot of joy in it.”