Dr. Ansel T. Johnson, OD

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Get to know Optometrist Dr. Ansel T. Johnson, who serves patients in Illinois.

An award-winning, Optometrist and Diabetes Eyecare Expert, Dr. Johnson is the Founder and Clinical Director of Vision Salon Eye Care Associates in Blue Island, Illinois. 

An eye care center of excellence, his office is the first and only in the State of Illinois to incorporate a Nationally Certified Diabetes Self-Management Program within an eye care facility. It also plays a crucial role as an externship site for 6 different schools of optometry, further contributing to education of the next generation of optometrists.

A national thought leader in eye care, Dr. Johnson holds the position of Adjunct Professor at multiple esteemed institutions, including Midwestern University Chicago College of Optometry in Downers Grove, Illinois; Kentucky College of Optometry in Pike, Kentucky; New England College of Optometry in Boston, Massachusetts; and Southern College of Optometry in Memphis, Tennessee. He can also be found on staff at Advocate Trinity Hospital in Chicago.

With a solid educational background, Dr. Johnson received his Bachelor’s Degree in Biology from Illinois Wesleyan University. He then completed a 4-year Doctor of Optometry Program at the New England College of Optometry, after which he attained a post-graduate certificate from the Optometry Executive Program at the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.

As a certified lifestyle coach for the CDC Diabetes Prevention Program, Dr. Johnson plays a vital role in promoting healthier lifestyles. He co-founded the KNOCout Diabetes educational program and has been an active member of the Association of Diabetes Care and Education Specialists for over two decades, demonstrating his enduring commitment to diabetes education and care.

Concentrating on eye care technologies, glaucoma and diabetes management, Dr. Johnson is a national industry speaker. He was the first optometrist to present accredited Continuing Education across multiple disciplines to a multiple disciplinary group of Diabetes Educators, nurses, optometrists, physical therapists, and pharmacists in Illinois.

In June 2020, Dr. Johnson founded and serves as CEO of the Health Living With A Vision Foundation, whose mission is to committed to transforming health disparities in historically underserved communities.

His professional leadership has been shown by currently holding multiple offices and others over the years, including Chairman and member of the Medical Advisory Board for the Bernie Mac Foundation for Sarcoidosis Awareness, Optometric Medical Director for United Eye Care Providers, on the Corporate Board of Directors for IDOC, Co-State Director in Illinois for the National Optometric Association, and Chairman of the health care committee for the Southland Black Chamber of Commerce.

Optometry is a health care profession that involves examining the eyes and applicable visual systems for defects or abnormalities, as well as diagnosing and managing eye disease. Optometrists are healthcare professionals who provide primary eye care through comprehensive eye examinations to detect and treat various visual abnormalities and eye diseases. Being a regulated profession, an optometrist’s scope of practice may differ depending on the location. Thus, disorders or diseases detected outside the treatment scope of optometry (i.e. those requiring certain surgical interventions) are referred out to surgical eye specialists(ophthalmologists) who are physicians that specialize in the tertiary medical and surgical care of the eye. Optometrists typically work closely together with not only ophthalmologists and opticians, but also primary care physicians to deliver quality and efficient and patient centered eye care to the general public.

Twice listed in Black Enterprise Magazine as one of America’s Top 101 African American Doctors, Dr. Johnson was honored in a White House ceremony in 1994 as a Head Start success story. He is a pillar of the Chicagoland community who continues work to positively impact eye care and patient centered primary health care.

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