Everything you need
before your visit

For most healthy adults, we recommend a comprehensive eye exam every one to two years. Children, seniors over 60, contact lens wearers, and anyone managing a condition like diabetes, high blood pressure, or glaucoma should be seen annually.

Even if your vision feels fine, regular exams are how we catch eye diseases like glaucoma and macular degeneration before they affect vision — when they are most treatable.

The American Optometric Association recommends a first eye exam between 6 and 12 months of age, followed by another between ages 3 and 5, and then annually once school starts.

Dr. La sees children starting at age 5 for routine exams. Vision problems are one of the leading causes of learning difficulties in children, so an exam before kindergarten is one of the best things you can do for your child’s academic readiness. For children younger than 5, your pediatrician can provide initial vision screening.

Both. We always welcome walk-ins, especially for quick concerns or eyewear questions. For comprehensive eye exams, we recommend scheduling ahead so we can reserve enough time for an unhurried visit.

If you’re a new patient, calling ahead also lets us verify your insurance and have your paperwork ready when you arrive.

Yes, we accept Apple Health (Washington Medicaid), Medicare, Tricare, VSP, Spectera, Regence, Premera Blue Cross, Kaiser, UnitedHealthcare, Humana, Molina, Wellcare, Coordinated Care, and many more. See the full list on our Patient Center page.

Don’t see your plan? Give us a call at (360) 427-8324 — we’ll happily verify your benefits before your visit.

A routine vision exam determines your prescription for glasses or contacts and screens for general eye health. It’s typically billed to your vision plan (like VSP).

A medical eye exam diagnoses and treats specific conditions like dry eye, infection, diabetic eye disease, or glaucoma. It’s billed to your medical insurance.

Sometimes one visit involves both. We’ll always explain what’s being billed and to whom before you leave.

Please bring your insurance card(s), a photo ID, your current glasses or contact lenses, and a list of any medications you take. If you have previous eye exam records, those are helpful but not required — we can request them for you if needed.

Plan to arrive about 10 minutes early to complete new-patient paperwork.

A comprehensive eye exam takes about 30 to 45 minutes. Contact lens exams add another 15 to 20 minutes for fitting and lens trial. If you need pupil dilation, plan for an extra 20 minutes plus some light sensitivity afterward — we recommend bringing sunglasses, and you may want a friend to drive if you’re sensitive.

Absolutely. By federal law, you own your prescription and we’re happy to provide it after your exam. You’re free to order from us, another optical shop, or online retailers.

That said, our optical team carries a curated selection of frames and we’ll match or beat most online prices when insurance is applied. If something doesn’t fit right, we’re here in person to adjust it — something an online order can’t offer.

If you’re experiencing sudden vision loss, eye pain, flashes of light, new floaters, a foreign object stuck in the eye (metal, sawdust, debris), an eye infection (red eye with discharge or pain), or a chemical splash, call us immediately at (360) 427-8324. We prioritize urgent cases and will see you as quickly as possible during business hours. We’re equipped to handle most eye emergencies in-office — including foreign body removal and treating corneal abrasions and infections — saving you a much more expensive ER visit.

For chemical splashes, flush the eye with clean water for at least 15 minutes before calling. After hours or on Sundays/Mondays when we’re closed, go to the nearest emergency room — do not wait.

Yes — chronic dry eye is one of the most common conditions we treat. If you’ve been using over-the-counter drops without lasting relief, you likely have an underlying cause (like meibomian gland dysfunction or allergies) that needs targeted treatment. Dr. La offers comprehensive dry eye evaluations including diagnostic testing, and we have access to in-office procedures that go well beyond drops. Learn more about our dry eye services.

Our office is inside the Walmart Vision Center at 100 E Wallace Kneeland Blvd in Shelton. Dr. La is an independent doctor of optometry — he provides the eye exams and writes prescriptions, while Walmart Vision Center handles eyewear sales and dispensing. Enter through the main Walmart entrance, walk to the Vision Center, and ask for Shelton Family Eye Care. Plenty of free parking in the Walmart lot.