Meet Dr. Paige Chumley, Optometrist & Owner of Heritage Park Vision in Katy
There’s very little we love more than a local physician, business owner, and mama who truly exemplifies community. Dr. Paige Chumley of Heritage Park Vision has such a genuine love for Katy and for every family she gets to interact with and take care of. Paige and her incredible staff support local sports teams, charities, and take any chance to get involved in and around Katy.
Our family has been lucky enough to be patients at Heritage Park Vision and Dr. Paige and her entire staff have taken such good care of us. From the routine base line eye exams, to taking care of a serious eye issue for my elderly dad, to our Harper’s first glasses- they made us feel like family every step of the way.
We are honored to feature this inspiring local mama today and hope you enjoy her interview as much as we did!
Where are you from originally and how long have you lived in the Katy area?
I moved to Katy in 3rd grade- I went to Katy Elementary, Katy Junior High and Katy High school! It is so crazy to see how much Katy has grown and changed from being “country” to having 9 high schools!
You have 3 amazing kids – how old are they and what’s your favorite thing about being their mom?
I love being a mom! My daughter is 10, and my boys are 7 and 4. The boys are the best of friends! I love seeing the small things that bring them joy, the pureness of their happiness. We are in the times of trying to figure out each ones love language so they don’t feel like they are competing for our attention. They are each naturally pretty competitive so it can feel like they are trying to out do each other to be the “winner.”
One thing people would be surprised to know about you…
I do nursing home eye care 1 day a week! This is something my dad was passionate about and my brother and I have carried on. Now that Heritage Park has gotten more busy it was a decision to hire a doctor to cover the office so I could continue to be out at all different nursing homes one day a week. I go to over 30 different facilities from Navasota to League City to Eagle Lake. We have some amazing instruments that allow us to perform complete eye exams and find glasses prescriptions even if the patients can not speak.
Favorite local things to do in the Katy area?
We love hanging out at the Stableside green space! It’s great to let the kids run around and be able to sit and enjoy some good food- we love Mandito’s! This summer we have also made lots of trips to Bahama Mama’s snow cones and Mary Jo Peckham Park.
Favorite local restaurants?
Our go to spot is Local Table- I love everything on the menu! Our favorite date night is Pearl & Vine and getting a seat at the bar to hear the live music.
Give us your best mom hack that makes your life easier.
Having some help! As much as I want to do it all, running a business and having 3 busy kids it’s just not possible sometimes. This year I had amazing help getting kids to practice on opposite sides of town at the same time. We also use Hello Fresh or order from Alli with @Atlaspersonalchef so we get home cooked meals without spending hours in the kitchen.
Did you always know you wanted to be an Optometrist growing up?
I am the 3rd generation eye care provider in my family. I started spending time as an optometric technician in high school. Going into college I was initially pre-med (because of course I didn’t want to easily follow the family business) but had some serious talks about the timeline and decided I wanted the 8 year school route not the 12 😊
Tell us about Heritage Park Vision and when you opened the doors?
I opened Heritage Park Vision in 2010- We are on our 14th year! When I opened I wanted to be the “family eye doctor” experience and I feel like we have really stayed committed to small business quality and personal care. In an industry that has been taken over by corporate big box places like Warby Parker we have made our name with customer service and staying on top of the latest treatments and technology.
Biggest blessing in being an eye doctor?
The relationships I have made with my patients is why I love this job so much. I have now seen kids for their kindergarten exam head off to college! I get to know families- I look forward to catching up and get sad when they move away. There is something about the dark room that people feel comfortable to share their life- somedays I feel like I’m a therapist eye doctor but I know I am meant to be here for people for this reason.
How many doctors do you have at Heritage Park Vision?
We have 3 doctors at Heritage Park Vision! Dr. Chelsea Smolinski has been with us since 2019, and Dr. Sara Brown started as helping for my last maternity coverage and we decided we couldn’t let her go! It has been a great help for work life balance having other moms who are amazing doctors and can step up if someone needs to leave early for meet the teacher!
Even if moms aren’t concerned with their child eye sight, when do you suggest an annual or bi-annual visit?
I am a huge believer in having a baseline exam! So often patients of any age come in because they have a problem- they have an eye infection, or have been hit in the head with a soccer ball- whatever it is, it is harder to evaluate a problem if we don’t have what is normal for that person. So if you haven’t had an exam in at least 3 years it is time for a new baseline! For kids I’d like to see everyone before they start kindergarten. Kids don’t know what vision should look like- so having an exam to make sure they are seeing what they should and as good as they can before they start school helps prevent finding out later learning difficulties could have been avoided. After that an annual exam allows us to make sure their eyes and vision are growing at a healthy rate.
Biggest things to look for to screen for sight issues in kids?
There are obvious signs of eye concerns like seeing an eye turn or a child squinting or rubbing their eyes, but because kid’s brains work hard to use whatever vision they have, mild to moderate blurry vision can be hard to catch. In general, encouraging kids to play outside and monitoring near screen time are good practices.
You see all age ranges from child to seniors, what’s your favorite thing about working with so many local families?
Getting to follow their journeys! I love hearing how a patient in junior high loves softball, then following her high school games, then hearing she is heading to college to play! I get to follow so many exciting journeys. I only see most patients once a year but I have the best patients in the world! I also love getting to meet the extended families- sometimes I see 4 generations of families! I get to meet the 94 year old grandpa and the 10 year old grand kids- it really is so special.
Future plans and hopes for your business?
I am intrigued by the aesthetic side of optometry. There are some amazing instruments that help with dry eyes and also improve skin texture and wrinkles around the eyes! This is a specialty that I could see my patients benefitting from and something I am looking into adding.
You’re also involved in the community and local charities – can you talk about your heart to support Katy?
We have been sponsors of Graeme’s Run and the Graeme McDaniel Foundation since it began. This is the sweetest Katy family that I went to KHS with and they started this foundation after losing their precious son Graeme at the age of 2 to a congenital heart defect. They have worked so hard to bring the Katy community together and host yearly events to raise money for CHD research and to support heart families as they travel for care. This is near and dear to my heart and I am so proud of them!
How do you manage work/life balance?
I have an amazing team! And honestly sometimes I don’t feel like I balance anything well LOL- somedays I’m doing a little bit everywhere and nothing great. But for the most part I have amazing staff at HPV- most of my staff has been with me over 5 years! I have family that live close by and can help when I am in over my head in commitments, and I have an amazing helpful husband! And at the end of the day sometimes I just can’t do anymore- I make a list of what I want to get done on my phone and I go to bed – and try again the next day!
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Note from Dr. Paige:
I have followed Katy Moms Network from the beginning and after getting to know Natalie and attending one of her awesome events I felt like her people are my people and I hope I can connect with her followers and be a part of their lives and get to introduce them to our fabulous team at Heritage Park Vision!
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Address: 5919 George Bush Dr, Katy, TX 77493