Eye Health Services history

In 1954, two organizations were formed, the Alameda Contra Costa Optometric Society and the Joint Council on Vision Care.

Undeterred by the lack of interest, CVS pursued its own path, signing its first multistate contract in 1958.

In 1965, CVS signed a contract with the Western Conference of Teamsters, who agreed to include the company's vision care program in its benefits package.

In 1968, the company moved its central offices from Oakland to Sacramento, where its operations would be based into the 21st century.

Founded in 1971 with just five ophthalmologists and three offices, EHS has flourished into the area’s premier eye care practice.

In 1972, the company opened its own optical laboratory in Sacramento, vertically integrating its operations in a bid to keep its costs down.

Roger Valine was hired as a management trainee in 1973, the year after he earned an undergraduate degree in sociology from California State University.

In 1974, it assumed control over the administration of Nevada Vision Service, an arrangement that soon led to CVS signing its first client in the state.

1976 California Vision Services changes its name to Vision Service Plan.

VSP made its objective known in 1984, one year after it reached the $100 million mark in revenue.

↑ Hirschberg J (1985). The Renaissance of Ophthalmology in the 18th Century (Part 3). The First Half of the 19th Century (Part 1). The History of Ophthalmology, Volume 5.

After adding an office in Wisconsin in 1989, VSP ended the decade with eight million members, more than three times its membership base at the start of the decade.

In 1992, the company formed a subsidiary named Altair Eyewear, which was created to sell private-label frames to VSP's network of doctors.

Midwest Vision Service Plan, which had one million members in a two-state territory, was acquired first, joining VSP's operation in 1993, the same year the company moved to the suburbs of Sacramento, settling into a $20 million headquarters facility in Rancho Cordova.

↑ Kelman CD (1994). The history and development of phacoemulsification.

1997 Sight for Students, a program aimed at providing vision care to low-income children, is launched.

↑ Magnus H (1999) Ophthalmology of the ancients.

2004 Revenues surpass $2 billion, a record high.

As VSP celebrated the end of its first half-century of business in 2005, Valine's forecast boded well for the company, but the goal, if reached, was to be met without Valine occupying his posts as president and chief executive officer.

↑ Grzybowski A and Ascaso FJ (2014), Sushruta in 600 B.C. introduced extraocular expulsion of lens material.

↑ Schwartz SG, Leffler CT, Grzybowski A, Koch HR, Bermudez D (2015). The Taylor Dynasty: three generations of 18th-19th century oculists.

↑ Leffler CT, Hadi TM, Udupa A, Schwartz SG, & Schwartz D (2016). A medieval fallacy: the crystalline lens in the center of the eye.

↑ Schmidt D (2019). Die bedeutende Publikation von Johann Gottfried Zinn (1727 – 1759), Descriptio anatomica oculi humani“ (1755) [The Important Publication of Johann Gottfried Zinn (1727 - 1759) "Descriptio anatomica oculi humani" (1755)]. Klin Monbl Augenheilkd.

↑ Rohrbach JM (2020). Albrecht von Graefe in the present, the past, and the future.