Josh Patrick, OD, a native of Brookhaven, has been named the recipient of the Mississippi Optometric Association’s (MOA) 2023 Community Service Award. Dr. Patrick is in practice at Eye Care Associates in Laurel and Petal.

The Community Service award is presented annually to recognize significant contributions to the profession of optometry and the general public. The finalists and winners are announced at the MOA’s Annual Fall Conference.

Encouraged by his parents and grandparents, Patrick has been involved in community service from an early age. As a board member and current president of the Mississippi Vision Foundation (MVF), he has been a part of establishing vision services for the Jackson Free Clinic. This clinic serves patients in the Jackson metro area who would otherwise be unable to afford healthcare.  The MVF worked with the clinic’s leadership to secure equipment, set up the equipment, and to recruit OD volunteers to complete the exams. Since March 2023, over 75 patients have received comprehensive eye exams and glasses. 

Through the Vision Mississippi program he has begun seeing patients in conjunction with the Good Shepherd Clinic in Laurel. Like the Jackson Free Clinic, this clinic provides free healthcare to those in need but lacked an eye care program. Patrick hopes that by working with Good Shepherd he can provide a template for other optometrists to participate in Vision Mississippi and help patients across the state.

“Today’s world is often about individualistic pursuits but if we could all give some of our time,

energy, and resources to uplift our individual communities, the result would be a better place for all to live,” Patrick said.

In addition to his work with MOA and MVF, he is also a member of the American Optometric Association, the American Diabetes Association, and the Contact Lens Society of America. 

Patrick is a 2008 graduate of Mississippi State University and a 2012 graduate of the University of Houston’s College of Optometry. He and his wife, Sarah, reside in Petal and sponsor two children in Haiti as a part of the But God Ministry. Locally, Patrick volunteers with Hub Fest and the United Way and provides vision and concussion screenings to area athletes.