SWFL eye care practice acquired by South Carolina company

An ophthalmology practice with locations in Charlotte, Collier and Lee counties has been acquired by a South Carolina-based eye care provider. Quigley Eye Specialists is now part of Eye Health America, an organization focused on creating partnerships in the Southeast. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Quigley Eye Specialists was founded in 1988 in Fort Myers by Dr. Thomas Quigley. It expanded in the past five years, particularly in the Port Charlotte and Fort Myers-Naples regions, according to a statement. The multi-specialty ophthalmology practice offers a range of services, from routine eye care to refractive cataract surgery to SMILE/LASIK. It operates 10 clinic locations in southwest Florida and two ambulatory surgery centers — one in Fort Myers and another in Port Charlotte.

Greenville-based Eye Health America partners with ophthalmology and optometry practices in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina by providing strategic, financial and operational support. It offers infrastructure to help improve processes and increase efficiencies, according to its website.

“What an exciting new chapter for our practice,” Dr. Emmanual Kai-Lewis, a Quigley Eye Specialists ophthalmologist and cataract and cornea surgeon, says in the statement. “We are confident that Eye Health America’s resources and support will help us continue to provide the best possible care to our patients.” 

In 2021, Eye Health America acquired Eye Centers of Florida, which is also based in Fort Myers and will partner with Quigley Eye Specialists now that they are both under the same parent company, according to a statement.

“We are thrilled to unite two legacy practices, Eye Centers of Florida and Quigley Eye Specialists, under the Eye Health America umbrella,” John Swencki, co-CEO of Eye Health America, says in a statement. “This partnership will allow us to continue building upon the strong foundation of care that Dr. Quigley and his team have established.”

Other Florida practices that are under Eye Health America include The Eye Associates of Sarasota and Manatee counties, Updegraff Laser Vision in Pinellas County and Bowden Eye & Associates of Jacksonville.

“We look forward to expanding access to the exceptional care patients in Southwest Florida have come to expect,” Eye Health of America co-CEO Mary Lou Parisi says in the statement, “while driving innovations to further elevate the patient experience.”