Today we’d like to introduce you to Zac Holland.
Hi Zac, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
In my final year of optometry school I worked under Dr Brooke Messer at Cornea and Contact Lens Institute of Minnesota. After my time with Dr Messer, she offered me a job once I graduated from the Illinois College of Optometry in 2015 and started practicing. In 2020, I purchase the business and brought on Dr Helene Pippin, OD, FAAO in the summer of 2024. She had just finished a residency in Cornea and Contact Lenses where she grew her knowledge and expertise in the field of specialty contact lenses. We have been practicing along side each other since that time.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Owning a healthcare office during COVID was difficult. We persisted and made it through. Growth and excellence has been a difficult thing to manage. In 2024 we hired a new doctor (Helene Pippin, OD) because we were getting so busy for 1 doctor to handle. Now, we may need to hire another doctor in the next 1-2 years to handle the continued growth.
As you know, we’re big fans of Cornea and Contact Lens Institute of Minnesota. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
The practice specializes in custom contact lenses for a myriad of eye diseases but primarily patients with Keratoconus, Corneal Transplant and irregular astigmatism. We operate as a referral center for front of the eye disease and management. The doctors are highly specialized and are experts in all types of contact lenses but primarily scleral lenses.
We are a healthcare teaching organization. So our doctors mentor 8-12 optometric students from Indiana University, Illinois College of Optometry and Marshall B Ketchum University in Southern California annually who aid us in seeing patients every day.
The clinic and our doctors have recieved multiple awards over the recent 5 years. Including: OVITZ Trailblazer Excellence awards in 2024 and 2025 for being in the top 5% of offices in the world that order the most custom designed contacts, 2024 Top Doctor, MN Young Optometrist of the year in 2024 and Coopervision Best Practice award in 2023 given to 10 prestigious practices nationally.
Dr Holland and Dr Pippin both lecture nationally and speak to other doctors regarding giving the best clinical care on the topics of Keratoconus, scleral lenses, Higher Order Aberrations, Orthokeratology and Myopia Management along with Epi On and Epi Off Collagen Corneal Crosslinking,
Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
At CCLIM we also participate in many FDA clinical trials for new medications, surgical interventions, devices and contact lenses. This usually gives our patients significantly reduced care if they meet the inclusion criteria.
We specialize in myopia control: Which is a technique used to slow the increase in glasses prescription in kids by utilizing custom optics in contact lenses.
CCLIM also has many options for advanced level dry eye therapy.
We comanage and work with the patients primary eye doctor to facilitate the best care if we need to be involved. But generally, the patients that receive the most benefit from our services are patients that have reduced vision from a corneal disease or scar resulting trauma or eye surgery.
Pricing:
- $100 Consultation
- Testing/visit my be possible to be billed to your medical insurance
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.corneaandcontactlensinstitute.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/corneaandcontactlensinstitute/
