Meet Your Neighbor: Jingping Xu
Jingping Xu, OD, PhD, is an optometrist and owner over at Fitchburg Family Eye Clinic. Matt asked her some questions to get to know her better — as an optometrist, local business owner (right down on Maple Grove and McKee), and as our west side neighbor!
Tell us about who you are & how you ended up in Fitchburg?
So I went to Louisville, Kentucky for my graduate school study for experimental psychology. So during my graduate school work I had some experience with patients doing experiments. Then I started to realize “Oh I like to work with patients.” So then I went to Boston for my optometrist school, then my husband found a job so we moved to Madison.
Before I moved here I don’t know much about Madison. But once I moved here I loved it here! Such a nice, beautiful city. . . lots of diversity, people are friendly, very convenient, not too expensive. Our house is pretty nearby in Fitchburg, we moved once, but it’s all in Fitchburg. It’s just great area, close to the city but it’s got feeling as well.
About two years ago we started our own business to help the community. To spend more time with the patients, care about what they want to see, and feel comfortable with the glasses and confidence like that!
What can people expect when they come in, who can they expect to meet?
So this is pretty much our second year, starting the third year. And actually this week, we had our new staff (our third staff) Linda with us. But before that we have Nancy and Sarah and and they are both very know great opticians, very friendly, like to help people, and actually we worked together before we started the business here. Then we were like "Oh we can be a great team!"
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What type of things do you specialize in? What can people come to you for?
We’re called Fitchburg Family Eye Care and so basically it’s a family eye care. We’re kind of like the primary eye doctor for young kids, to elderly family people. We would check your eyes — the health, help you for eye wear, contact lens, spectacles, to help you to see and be comfortable with it. Sometimes people get stuff in their eyes or just have red eyes and so they all come here, we take a look. Then we do send referrals for specialists if you think you need further treatment. Some have follow up with your phone or we work with a family community care. So we are your primary care for your eyes — both health and the vision.
We do work with a lot of kids. And you know these days kids have a lot of devices and screen time. Kids can develop myopia which is near sightedness early. We do help kids to control it and slow it down so we do treatment of that as well.
And I see you have a lot of frames in house, is that something that you can do day of?
We do have a small lab in the back so lots of glasses. We have the ability to make it right away here in the same day or most of the time even a couple days. And some we send to the lab (like progressive or harder ones) which is about week to come back.
You do have a nice selection of sunglasses here as well! So if it's a sunny day and you need somewhere to pop in you can see what selection they have.
Exactly! Yeah!
When you're not here helping people with their eyesight what do you like to do for fun?
In general I like painting! Drawings, water color, and oil color. I did start learning when I was young and kept it as a hobby. It’s very relaxing and occupies my time instead of looking at phone. I live with my husband, I have three kids, they’re a little young ones so far so they keep me busy as well. But it’s nice to spend family time, take walks, and go to parks and museums as well.
Thank you for your time, thanks for being such a great part of our community here in Fitchburg, and again if you haven't had a chance to come out and visit feel free to come and visit Dr. Xu and her staff here in Fitchburg!
Thanks for taking the time to sit down with us, Jingping!
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