our story
How It All Began
Born in Kingston, Jamaica, Desmond Parkin moved to the United States in the early 1970s. He earned his bachelors degree from Syracuse University and went on to receive his doctorate from SUNY College of Optometry. Dr. Parkin’s entrepreneurship led him to own two opticals in Brooklyn, New York where he has practiced for the last 30 years. However, Dr. Parkin’s accomplishments don’t limit him to serving only local Brooklynites. The New York optometrist annually takes his extensive training and skills to his home country of Jamaica as well as the Dominican Republic where he gives exams and corrective eyewear to children of local, impoverished communities.
With such great involvement in the optometric field, Dr. Parkin never lost sight of his entrepreneurship. In 2012 he opened up a third optical in Negril which is located in western Jamaica. Now managing three optical locations with one in the Caribbean, Dr. Parkin noticed the vast difference in the day to day operations of his front staff at each location. The staff at his Brooklyn opticals, which are located in busy, fast growing areas of the borough, are allotted more time with each patient as Dr. Parkin had all office calls transferred to his Negril, Jamaica location. Transferring office calls expanded to Insurance authorizations, job status, recalls, and handling majority of office calls that consumed the time of front office personnel. In time, Dr. Parkin had created his own concierge service for each of his optical locations. What started as an optical in Jamaica, branched out to form what we know today as Visionappoint.