Drake Eye Center

20 years ago….on September 29, 2003, Drake Eye Center first opened for business. I can’t express enough how honored I am to own and operate a business in the same town in which I grew up. I am extremely appreciative of the support that I have been given by the people of Hartselle and ALL the neighboring communities. That appreciation is the driving force behind why I make a conscious effort to give back, particularly to the schools. While I love my Hartselle Tigers the most, I also proudly support the Hawks, Blue Devils, Patriots, Bulldogs, Eagles, Red Raiders, and Black Bears (sorry, Bearcats). The people of Morgan County have supported me these past 20 years, so I want nothing more than to see these schools succeed.

I must also take a moment to thank my wonderful staff. Although we have had some staff changes over the years, I have always been blessed to have great ladies that work tirelessly to ensure that our patients are cared for and that our office runs smoothly (most days). Lastly, of course, my most recent edition, Dr Lindsey Guyse has been such a blessing, as I can now slow down a little and take some time off. She has been well-received by our community and will be a tremendous asset to Drake Eye Center, long after I retire.

Thanks so much for your continued support, as we strive to provide the highest quality eye care and eyewear to all our patients. Please enjoy (& have a nice laugh at) the attached newspaper ad from 20 YEARS AGO. I am not exactly sure who thought that picture was going to drum up business, but it was, for some reason, approved by me before it went to print. Nice pants.

We are so pleased to have received this honor and so very thankful for anyone that took the time to vote. We value the quality of eye care that we provide to our patients. This high quality eye care is not just from our 2 eye doctors (Dr Drake and Dr Guyse), but also from our entire staff, which is absolutey incredible. While we are appreciative of this award, we also know that this is mainly a way for local newspapers to increase their revenue stream through advertising. This is why you will see other Best of the Best awards given to other eye doctors, in different categories. You may see MANY other awards, in MANY different categories. We will not win every category, as that would not be good for advertising revenue. 🙂

NOW HIRING: Drake Eye Center is looking for someone with a great attitude and strong work ethic, who is eager and willing to work in a fast-paced office setting. This position is for front desk primarily, but we like our employees to be well-rounded and cross-trained in multiple positions within the office. Experience in optometry, optical, medical, or insurance billing is preferred, but definitely not required.

This position comes with benefits including vacation, sick days, 401K, and individual health insurance. We are accepting resumes now and plan to hire as soon as possible. Resumes can be sent to [email protected].

Thanks so much.
Dr. Drake

Drake Eye Center will open on a 2 hour delay on Monday, January 3rd. We will open at 10:00am.

September 29th is always a special day for Drake Eye Center. On this day in 2003, we first opened for business. I very likely had either 0 patients or 1 patient on the schedule that day. I am so very blessed to be able to live and work in the town where I grew up, which is a place I love so much. Over the past 18 years, the wonderful people of Hartselle and the neighboring communities have been so good to my business, and serving this area has been a true blessing to me and my family. This is why I try my very best to support all our local schools and the community, as a whole. Thank you so much for allowing us to provide eye care and eye wear to this area for the last 18 years. (OLD pics included for comic relief.)
- Dr. Drake

We are so excited to announce that on June 21, Dr. Lindsey Elmore Guyse will be joining our staff. This addition will greatly improve our efficiency. Patients will spend less time in the waiting room and less time in the exam room waiting on the doctor. We have always been so proud of our patient care, but we know this will dramatically improve the overall patient experience.

Dr. Lindsey Elmore Guyse grew up in Hartselle and was raised along with her two brothers by her parents, Thomas and Emily Elmore. She graduated from Hartselle High School in 2013 with an Advanced Academic Honors Diploma. Lindsey attended Mississippi State University, where she graduated Summa Cum Laude in 2017, with a Bachelor of Arts in Biological Sciences, with a concentration in Pre-Optometry. She also received minors in both Business Administration and Spanish. She continued her education at the UAB School of Optometry, where she graduated in 2021 with her Doctorate of Optometry. Dr. Lindsey Elmore Guyse is married to Jordan Guyse, son of Carlton and Melea Guyse, who are also Hartselle natives. She is excited to move back to her hometown, where she will provide eye care to the community that she knows and loves.

https://m.hartselleenquirer.com/2021/03/26/burleson-spo-gifted-pair-of-sunglasses-by-drake-eye-center/

Burleson SPO gifted pair of sunglasses by Drake Eye Center - The Hartselle Enquirer Not all heroes wear capes, but Maui Jim is on a mission to make sure they wear sunglasses. The sunglasses maker based in Hawaii recently reached out to Hartselle’s Drake Eye Center in search of a local hero to gift with a free pair of nonprescription sunglasses. They found their local hero in Hart...

Effective Monday, May 4th, Drake Eye Center will implement the following policies (some old, some new) to ensure the safety and well-being of all our patients and our community, as a whole:

- We ask that all patients coming to the office try to limit their number of companions to as few as possible. Also, it is recommended, but not required, that any companions over the age of 15 wait in the vehicle. This will help us limit the total number of people in the office.

- Upon arrival, there may be a couple of new check-in policies, such as questions regarding flu-like symptoms and a non-contact forehead temperature reading.

- Patients will go straight from the front desk to the exam room. If all the exam rooms are occupied, patients can wait in our newly arranged (socially-spaced) waiting area or in your vehicle, if you prefer.

- All staff members will wear face masks when working in close proximity to the patients. This will include Dr. Drake, the optometric technicians, and the opticians.

- We will be taking extra precautions to properly disinfect all surfaces, as well as anything that may have been directly touched by a patient or staff member, such as displayed frames and sunglasses.

We are VERY MUCH looking forward to getting back to normal and we hope and pray for the day when all our local businesses can re-open.

If you have any specific questions or concerns, please feel free to send us a direct message and we will respond just as soon as possible. Thanks so much.

Special thanks to Rhonda and all the wonderful folks at Cahoots. We ordered our lunch from there today and, as usual, it was fantastic. Buy local and support these Hartselle restaurants. It is always Takeout Tuesday when you can't remember what day it is.

Don’t forget that Tuesday, March 31st is “Take-out Tuesday”. Our good friend Joe Bailey and Dr Drake first discussed this idea late last week and all of us here at Drake Eye Center think it’s a fantastic idea. The goal is for everyone to try and get out this upcoming Tuesday and support all the local restaurants in the county or city where you live and work.

A great number of small businesses will take a financial hit during this tough time. However, this is just one way where we can all work together and have a much-needed positive effect. So let’s try to grab as many take-out meals as we can on Tuesday at our favorite local restaurants. Please post pics on Facebook - where you ate, what you ate, etc, noted with .

We look forward to seeing our community respond to this challenge.

In an effort for us to stay productive during this pandemic, from now through April 17th, Drake Eye Center will be selling all sunglasses at 25% off. So, for example, a $200 pair of sunglasses will only be $150 Also, in order to continue practicing "social distancing", we will need to do all this through Facebook messages and phone calls.

1. Send us a private Facebook message letting us know what frame brand, frame style, lens color, lens type, etc that you would like. Also, feel free to message or call with any specific questions you might have.

2. Once you message us exactly what you would like, then we will message or call you back with an exact price before anything is ordered.

3. You can pay over the phone and we can mail them directly to you.

Tell all your friends.

During this difficult time dealing with COVID-19, we here at Drake Eye Center want to continue to do our part. As a lot of our patients already know, we are only providing “urgent and emergent” care until April 6. This was recommended by the CDC and has been mandated by the Alabama Dept of Public Health since Thursday, March 19. If anyone is having an issue that they feel is urgent and cannot wait, just let us know. Dr. Drake is always available. We will continue normal business hours for now and patients can still pick up & order glasses/contact lenses, as well.

If you are out of contact lenses and don’t even want to leave the house, we can mail your contact lenses directly to you. Just call our office at 256.773.3997, pay via credit card, and we can ship directly to you for no additional charge.

We know this is a stressful time for everyone, but we will make it through. Please let us know if there is anything we can do to help you with your eye care or eyewear.

Drake Eye Center updated their business hours.

So, we have been in business right here in Hartselle, Alabama for almost 17 years, but are just now, today, setting up our page. For obvious reasons, we have a little free time on our hands, so we thought now was the perfect time to get this page up and running. Please like our page, share our page, and help us get the word out that we are up and running on Facebook.

Drake Eye Center updated their website address.