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RANCHO CORDOVA, Calif.—Continuing to work toward meeting the needs of private practice ECPs who are seeking transition models for their business, VSP Ventures announced Thursday the acquisition of six optometric practices across California. The six practices, which operate a total of seven locations, are: Optometry at Redwood Shores in Redwood City; Eastgate Optometry Care in Garden Grove; Swan Family Optometry in Citrus Heights; Eagle Vision Eye Care in Sacramento and Roseville; Stanislaus Optometric Center in Modesto,  and Norwalk Family Optometry in Norwalk. The terms of the transactions were not disclosed.

All six practices will continue to operate under their existing name and all doctors and staff will remain in their roles, according to the announcement Thursday.

Founded in early 2019 by VSP Global, VSP Ventures finished 2019 with 12 locations, and had expanded to about 20 practices under its management at the beginning of this month, as Vision Monday reported in its August issue.

At that time, VSP Ventures president Steve Baker noted, “Our forecast [for growth and acquisitions] is strong, but we don’t really have a number target. …. The way we run our business is much more of us being responsive to the profession and [whether] we can onboard, engage and thoughtfully operate practices in a way that is not too slow, but not too fast.”

In Thursday’s announcement, Baker noted that VSP Ventures was formed “in response to doctors asking us for a range of care-focused transition options.” He added, “We’re grateful for the continued interest of so many doctors and we remain committed to offering unique options to meet their needs at different points in their career.”

John E. Larcabal, OD, founder of Norwalk Family Optometry, noted that VSP Ventures shares its patient-focused philosophy and offered “a clear choice as we thought about our options to step back from managing the business but continuing to provide patient care.”

Larcabal added, “Since opening in 1989, the needs of our patients have always been a priority and that has never been more important than throughout COVID-19. My partner, Diane Almanza, OD, and I provided emergency eyecare throughout the pandemic, which was made safer and easier to deliver thanks to PPE and other key support provided by VSP Ventures.”

Manjeet Mann, OD, who purchased Optometry at Redwood Shores in 2014 near the heart of Silicon Valley, said she was looking to evolve her role within the practice without compromising the approach to delivering compassionate care in a technologically advanced setting.

“Partnering with VSP Ventures lets us preserve our legacy while gaining the support and expertise to take our patient experience to next level with the latest technology,” Mann said.

VSP network doctors interested in learning more about VSP Ventures can visit its site at www.vspventures.com.