Member Spotlight: Kerri-Ann Hodge, OD
Dr. Kerri-Ann Hodge, who owns De’Cordova Eyewear in Houston, Texas, grew up in Jamaica, where the nature and beauty influenced her outlook on life.
“I wanted my practice to be filled with peace and tranquility,” she explains. “As a business owner, I thought a lot about what I wanted the culture to be like.”
Dr. Hodge has created a culture in which patients are treated not only for their vision needs, but they also
enjoy other services including skin care and massages. Patients are able to relax with a cup of coffee while browsing a library of available books in the waiting room.
“Creating a culture comes down to who you are,” Dr. Hodge explains. “So the spa is about relaxing, and the lending library is about being able to learn.”
“If you think of going to a dentist or primary care physician, usually it’s all about business,” Dr. Hodge explains. “But when you go out to eat, it’s different, it’s more about the environment and the experience. And that’s what I wanted to bring to my practice.”
During their visit, patients can opt to receive skin care or eyelash treatments, and during dilation, they receive a warm compress on their eyes while relaxing in a heated massage chair.
On the De’Cordova Eyewear Facebook page, one patient said the combination of music softly playing with the sight and sound of a nearby water fountain lulled him to sleep in the massage chair, making it the “most relaxing and detailed eye examination” he had ever experienced.
The library and cafe are also open to the public, and part of the office is a community space for gatherings.
As if there weren’t enough going on for Dr. Hodge and her two other full-time employees, De’Cordova also sells a growing line of eyewear. Like the optometry practice, De’Cordova Eyewear is named after Dr. Hodge’s father, who was the inspiration for her study of optometry.
“When I was 8, my dad was in London, not because he wanted to be there, but he was getting eye surgery. My big, strong handsome dad was not able to see well,” Dr. Hodge says. “I wanted to help my dad.”
“And, as a little girl, I liked to draw, and that’s where I started thinking about my eyewear line. It’s my childhood dream,” she explains.
Dr. Hodge says these extra elements make it pleasant for her and her employees to be at work and are not too expensive to include in her practice.
“It’s really about who you are,” she says. “It should be something that you have a sense of connection to. For our employees and patients, we are creating a culture.”
“We really need to connect to people and patients,” Dr. Hodge says. “They come for their visit every year, and they need to know they’re being taken care of. They become family.”
