UH Eye Care Named Houston’s Best of the Best

On July 15, the University of Houston launched UH Health, a new brand highlighting the university’s growing momentum in health services, health professions education, and biomedical research. Just two days later, the University of Houston College of Optometry marked the launch with an early triumph when UH Eye Care – part of UH Health – was named “Best of the Best” in the Houston Chronicle’s annual reader-voted awards.

As the clinical teaching arm of the college, UH Eye Care provides vision, medical, and surgical eye care services while preparing the next generation of optometrists. The clinic serves more than 50,000 patients annually at the University of Houston campus and across three community clinics in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. It is also the only optometric clinical teaching facility in the nation with an on-site ambulatory surgery center.

At the UH Eye Care Center, patients receive a full spectrum of services, including comprehensive eye exams, pediatric eye care, specialty contact lenses, dry eye treatment, low vision rehabilitation, ocular disease management, surgical co-management and evidence-based myopia management. The college also operates a full-service optical shop, including a satellite location at the University of Houston Student Center, making eye care more accessible for students, faculty and staff.

Education Through Patient Care

Every patient encounter at the UH Eye Care Center also supports the college's educational mission. Third- and fourth-year optometry students, alongside optometric residents and fellows, examine and treat patients under the close supervision of clinical faculty, gaining hands-on experience across a wide range of specialties.

“The quality of our patient care is inseparable from the quality of our educational mission,” said Dr. Andrew Archila, Associate Dean for Clinical Operations and Clinical Professor.
“Every visit provides our students with real-world clinical experience while ensuring patients receive exceptional care backed by advanced technology and leading clinical research.”

The UH Eye Care Center also serves patients regardless of insurance status, reflecting its commitment to accessible, community-based care while providing students with experience treating patients representing the entire Houston community.

Even before earning Best of the Best honors, patients have long endorsed UH Eye Care as their primary choice for vision care, with some families returning for more than 20 years.

“More than 92% of patients report excellent customer satisfaction scores, which is well above the industry benchmark,” Dr. Archila said. “Testimonials collected from patients consistently praise the clinic for providing compassionate and detail-oriented care, noting that clinicians and staff go above and beyond to detect hard-to-see issues and answer all questions.”

Upholding a Legacy of Excellence and Leadership

Dr. Archila spearheaded the effort to compete in Best of the Best three years ago to raise awareness of UH Optometry’s clinical excellence. Clinical management and staff – including Alyce Adeseye, Chaminga Lorensuhewa, Guaquita LaVelle Watkins, and Mezana Wofford –  helped drive the campaign and uphold operational excellence over three award cycles. 

While the award recognizes outstanding patient care and celebrates customer satisfaction, it also reflects the college's broader mission to educate future optometric leaders, advance vision science and improve lives through accessible healthcare.  

“For nearly 75 years, our college has connected vision care to the broader health of the communities we serve,” said Dr. Michael Twa, Dean of the UH College of Optometry. “We tend to demonstrate excellence quietly, but recognition like this matters. Eye care is about more than examinations, treatment, or eyeglasses. It is about caring for people, treating them with dignity, and protecting the precious gift of sight.”