A new eye doctor has set up shop in Damariscotta.
Dr. William Coppola has expanded his Rockland Eyecare practice and opened a location at 590 Main St. in Damariscotta.
Coppola, of Rockland, has been practicing optometry for 41 years. He graduated from the Pennsylvania College of Optometry in 1974 and moved to Rockland to buy a practice from Dr. Bradford Burgess. Coppola said Burgess’ father was one of the founding fathers of optometry in Maine.
“I believe it is one of the oldest practices in the state,” Coppola said.
During his first years as an optometrist, Coppola said he saw soft contact lenses come into popularity.
“I was originally a hard lens wearer,” Coppola said. “My school did some of the research on soft lenses, so I had some experience getting started. Contact lenses are our specialty.”
A plan to expand the business to Damariscotta was something Coppola had been considering for years.
“We had been getting a lot of patients from the Damariscotta and Waldoboro area and felt there was a need here,” Coppola said.
After failing to find a location that “really suited the business’s needs,” Coppola built a new building at 590 Main St. Damariscotta Eyecare officially started seeing patients Oct. 21.
“It’s been going very well,” Coppola said. “The phones are starting to ring, which is a good sign.”
Damariscotta Eyecare is open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. In addition to scheduled appointments, Coppola is on call to treat emergencies 24/7.
“For an optometrist, emergencies are treating things like an eye injury or a foreign body in the eye,” Coppola said. “It’s a very rewarding part of the job because you get to help these people who come in in extreme pain feel better almost immediately.”
While people who wear contact lenses or have prescription glasses come in every year for a check-up, Coppola recommends adults have their eyes checked once every two years. Coppola also said children and teenagers should have their eyes checked yearly.
“Their eyes change very rapidly, especially in the teen years,” Coppola said. “We’ve seen a rise in nearsightedness in people that age. It’s a hereditary trait, but in modern society it’s all the close work we’re doing with screens. Even at a young age in school, kids are on computers more often.”
Coppola operates both businesses with his associate, Jeremiah LaBree.
“When you first get out of school, you don’t have a lot of money, so Burgess helped me along and got me going in the practice,” Coppola said. “Now I’m doing the same for Jeremiah.”
Coppola said both he and LaBree will split their time between the Rockland and Damariscotta offices.
Coppola also works with his son, John Coppola, Damariscotta Eyecare’s dispensing optician. Coppola said his son will spend all of his time at the Damariscotta office.
After 41 years in the business, Coppola said he still enjoys going to work, and if he wasn’t an optometrist, he would want to take the next step to become an ophthalmologist, or eye surgeon.
“I could be retired by now, but I enjoy coming in and seeing my patients every day,” Coppola said. “It’s a challenging but rewarding job.”
