Dr. Tony Phillips is a native of Baltimore County, and received her Bachelor of Arts Degree from St. John’s College in Annapolis, achieving a double major with a double minor, while completing three prestigious medical internships and publishing a medical article. She received her Doctorate in Optometry from the Pennsylvania College of Optometry in Philadelphia, where she studied pediatric and family eye care.
Dr. Tony Phillips is a native of Baltimore County, and received her Bachelor of Arts Degree from St. John’s College in Annapolis, achieving a double major with a double minor, while completing three prestigious medical internships and publishing a medical article. She received her Doctorate in Optometry from the Pennsylvania College of Optometry in Philadelphia, where she studied pediatric and family eye care. Knowing that she loved children, Dr. Phillips worked for many years after college as a first grade assistant teacher, and special needs one to one aid. She noticed that many reading problems had underlying vision issues, so she began training under Dr. Brisco at the prestigious Hollywood Vision Center, who provided the community with pediatric vision treatment for hard to treat eye disorders. Dr. Phillips’s optometry journey started in 2010, when she landed a job as a vision rehabilitation therapist with Dr. Brisco. Quickly, she advanced to head vision rehabilitation therapist, and ran the pediatric and brain injury clinics, where she treated patients of all ages struggling with double vision. She worked attending night school, to complete all the credits necessary to become a doctor, and received her post baccalaureate at UCLA night school with honors. She went on to score one of the highest scores in the nation for her doctoral admittance exam, and graduated from the Pennsylvania College of Optometry in Philadelphia. In addition to receiving her doctorate, she also completed a dual program for Advanced Studies in Neuro-Ophthalmic Disease, which additionally trained her to recognize conditions such as increased intracranial pressure, vision loss from stroke, multiple sclerosis, and rare forms of glaucoma.
In her graduate work, Dr. Phillips completed a six month internship on the Ophthalmology Service at Einstein Hospital in Philadelphia. There, she worked closely with cataract surgeons in and out of the operating room, to help determine when patients needed surgery, and prescribe their recovery regimenes. She chose to do her final optometric internship at the only LGBT eye clinic in the nation, inside Fenway Health Center in Boston, Massachusetts. She learned how to treat every patient like family, regardless of background, and was awarded Intern of the Year for her extraordinary care to these patients.
Dr. Tony Phillips understands how important the visual system is for everyday life. Throughout the years, she’s seen how tiny changes and small imperfections in our vision can dramatically change lives. This is why she works so hard to give each patient the quality time needed in an exam. In addition to screening for macular degeneration, cataracts, diabetic retinopathy, and much more, she also works to find the right balance of prescription power. It takes time to thoroughly understand each patient, as an individual. Two people could have the same power of prescription in the eyes, but they see very differently. As a doctor, Dr. Phillips believes it is important to balance the muscles and focusing system, and to understand a person’s visual demands when prescribing optimal eyewear. No two brains are the same -- and our vision isn't black and white! (hopefully…)
When Doctor Tony isn’t seeing patients, she is riding horses, playing gin rummy, or spending time with her nephew who attends Middletown Middle! She is passionate about her family’s charity, Catch A Lift, which was founded after she lost her beloved uncle, who was killed in action in Afghanistan. Catch A Lift works to rehabilitate wounded veterans, and has helped thousands of heroes heal their bodies and minds through community and support.
