A Clinic Close to Home: Erin Poirier’s Vision for Community Care

A Clinic Close to Home:
Erin Poirier’s Vision for Community Care

Among the honours presented was the Vision Entrepreneur Award, granted to a graduating student who demonstrates a commitment to independent practice. Rather than focusing solely on academic or clinical performance, the recognition looks ahead—acknowledging students who ask where they’re needed, and what kind of care they want to help build.

This year’s recipient, Erin Poirier, had long been asking those questions. Raised in rural Southern Ontario, she plans to return home and meet the everyday needs of patients in the communities she knows best. Her choice reflects a broader shift among new graduates: toward care that stays local, builds trust, and grows over time.

What One Clinic Can Mean

Erin grew up where access to care could mean long drives and few options. But it wasn’t until her final internship that the impact of those gaps became fully visible. In Meadow Lake, Saskatchewan, she trained with Dr. Melissa McLaughlin, the sole optometrist serving a wide and underserved region.

Day after day, she witnessed how deeply patients relied on that clinic. She reflects, “It may be easy at times to forget the significant value a pair of spectacles or ocular health management can have, but its importance is highlighted when patients must travel further distances for care.”

Care That Feels Personal

Rural optometry offers a distinct kind of fulfillment. What stood out for Erin was the depth of connection between provider and community. Patients knew their optometrist not just by name but as someone they trusted, someone they returned to. The work was personal and deeply embedded in the community.

This sense of connection made a deep impression. It stood in contrast to the more fragmented experience Erin had observed in urban settings, where optometrists are usually one part of a larger, more transactional system. In rural communities, the optometrist is often the only point of contact for many aspects of eye health—and sometimes general health as well.

“I was welcomed into Meadow Lake with open arms and experienced the impact that [Dr. McLaughlin’s] practice had on her patients and the town,” Erin says.

That welcome, and the clarity it brought, helped Erin define what kind of optometrist she wanted to become—someone present, invested in patients’ lives and in the community as a whole. She notes, “Providing eye care to those with limited access brought an additional sense of drive, and desire to help as many people as I can throughout my career.”

2025 Vision Entrepreneur Award winner Erin Poirier with OSI member Dr. Michael Yee

Back to Where it Matters

After graduation, Erin will return to Southwestern Ontario, where she’ll begin practicing in Tillsonburg, just next door to her home region in Norfolk County. She’s joining Optometrists on Broadway, an independent clinic and OSI Group member with deep ties to the local community. “It fills me with immense pride,” she says, “I aim to give back to the rural area that raised me.”

For Erin, it’s about building something sustainable and long-term in a place that matters. Clinics like Optometrists on Broadway are part of the local fabric, offering everything from regular check-ups to urgent interventions, all within a structure that allows optometrists to grow as both clinicians and business owners.

A Model for What’s Possible

The Vision Entrepreneur Award is part of OSI Group’s broader investment in the next generation of clinic owners. Through mentorship, professional development, and community engagement, OSI equips future optometrists with the tools and the confidence to chart their own paths.

This year, that support came to life through a familiar presence. Dr. Michael Yee, attending on OSI’s behalf, has long been a fixture at the School’s ceremonies. His path mirrors Erin’s in meaningful ways—like her, he chose to settle in a familiar setting (in this case, Guelph, Ontario), opening a clinic and building a life in the place he calls home.

Over the years, Dr. Yee has remained closely connected to the School of Optometry & Vision Science, sharing his insight and experience with students who are just beginning to imagine what their futures could look like. In many ways, Dr. Yee represents what the award is about: the choice to stay, to serve, and to build something lasting. It’s a full-circle contribution; one that Erin, in time, may offer to the next generation.

For now, her story stands as a reminder that the future of optometry doesn’t have to mean chasing opportunities far from home. Sometimes, it starts by returning—and recognizing that the most meaningful work can happen in the places that first shaped you.