About Dr. McDonald
A graduate of the Pennsylvania College of Optometry, Dr. McDonald has extensive experience in primary eye care, glaucoma treatment, and pre- and post-operative care for Lasik and cataract surgery patients, and contact lenses. As a former teacher and father of three, he has cultivated a large pediatric patient relationship. Having been trained in sports vision and vision therapy through the Baltimore Academy of Behavioral Optometry (BABO), he integrates his appreciation for sports, learning, and his desire to see children succeed. Dr. McDonald is a charter member of Lakeville Rotary, the Paul Harris Fellowship, and the Lakeville Area Chamber of Commerce. He and his Wife Patti have received the Business Persons of the Year award from the Lakeville Chamber of Commerce that they have been members of since 1986. Dr. McDonald served on the Lakeville Community Corp for fifteen years and was instrumental in the building of Ames Hockey Arena in Lakeville.
About Dr. Staack (McDonald)
A graduate of Lakeville High school, Dr. Molly McDonald was a four-year varsity women’s hockey player. With two girls’ State high school hockey tournament appearances. Dr. Molly was the first recipient of the Herb Brooks Award her senior year. The Herb Brooks Award is presented to the most qualified hockey player in the state tournament who strongly represents the values, characteristics, and traits that defined Herb Brooks. She went on to play Division 1 women’s ice hockey at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York graduating in 2008.
Dr. Molly is a 2012 graduate from The Ohio State University College of Optometry; where she fostered her professional interests in primary eye care with an emphasis on contact lenses, disease detection and treatment, and pre- and post-operative surgical eye care. After graduation she worked at Minnesota Eye Consultants, focusing on cataract, corneal, and glaucoma surgeries. During that time she helped write two chapters in “Limbal Relaxing Incisions: A Practical Guide” with Doctors David R. Hardten and Richard Lindstrom. She also spent time with a local Lasik group determining a patient’s candidacy in preoperative appointments and managing patients after Lasik surgery. Dr. Molly fostered her development in Vision Therapy by continuing her education through the Optometric Extension Program (OEP). OEP is an international organization dedicated to the advancement of the discipline of optometry through the gathering and dissemination of information on vision and the visual process. It strives to advance human progress on vision, the visual process, and clinical care through research, education, and a dynamic network of professionals.
As President of The Vision Performance Center of Minnesota, she enjoys helping athletes enhance their sports specific visual game. She is a vision consultant to the Seattle Kraken and Nashville Predators. She also enjoys working with children and adults in Vision Therapy for academic and post-concussion treatments. Vision Therapy is a treatment developed by an optometrist, who specialize in how vision is used, known as neuro-behavioral or developmental optometry. This is different from a standard optometrist who identifies and corrects defects in visual acuity (20/20 vision) and evaluates eye health. As a Behavioral/Neuro-behavioral optometrist we can look at eyes that are otherwise healthy, but function poorly due to disruptions in development or brain injury, this is different from Ophthalmology, which is a specialty that focuses on surgery for pathology (disease) of the eye. Because the brain tells the eyes what to do, visual function can be poor even when standard eye tests have found nothing wrong. Vision therapy is a non-invasive and proven effective option in addressing a variety of vision issues, including eye turn, “lazy eye” (strabismus and/or amblyopia), convergence insufficiency, double vision, post-concussion vision syndrome and more. There are numerous benefits to vision therapy, and it can be used to treat a wide variety of disorders and Dr. Molly enjoys seeing a spectrum of patients that suffer from these vision disorders (oepf.org).
Dr. Molly was voted the 2016 “Young OD of the Year” by the Minnesota Optometric Association and Readers Choice “Best Eye Doctor” in Lakeville.
Dr. Molly enjoys working with the community in Lakeville, the community that shaped her career. Dr. Molly is very excited to be involved again in the Lakeville Hockey program through her daughter Lainey! Her other hobbies include hanging with her husband Luke, daughter Lainey, sons Eli and Zeke and their dog Shooter.
McDonald Eye Care Associates
OSU Optometry
Cornell University
About Dr. McDonald
Born and raised in Lakeville, Dr. Meg takes pride in serving her community. Dr. Meg is a graduate of Lakeville North High School. She spent her undergraduate years at The University of Wisconsin- Madison where she was the captain of the UW Dance Team. After a year of working as an optician and gaining experience in all aspects of a private practice, she went to optometry school in PA. She graduated from Pennsylvania College of Optometry at Salus University with honors in 2017. She has extensive training in primary care, specialty contact lenses, pediatrics, and treating ocular diseases such as glaucoma, macular degeneration, and dry eye.
Dr. Meg enjoys being involved in the community. She is an active mentor with Hope For Tomorrow. Her free time is spent with her husband Anthony, son AJ, and their dogs Luci and Dutchie.
About Dr. Schmiedt
Dr. Nicole Schmiedt grew up in South Sioux City, Nebraska, and obtained her undergraduate degree in Biology at Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota. After completing her undergraduate education, she was determined to provide the great state of Minnesota with high-quality eye care. She went on to receive her Doctorate from Indiana University School of Optometry where she graduated in the Bicentennial Class of 2020 as the Salutatorian, with Highest Honors. Her clinical education at Indiana led her to train at state-of-the-art eye care facilities across the U.S. She received training in ocular disease, surgical co-management, minor surgical and laser procedures, specialty contact lenses, and vision rehabilitation.
Dr. Schmiedt believes in providing excellent eye care for all ages and all levels of vision. Her professional interests include low vision or functional vision assessments, vision rehabilitation, and neurorehabilitation. She is excited to bring these services to the Lakeville community and to continue advancing in this field by becoming a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry.
She is a member of the Minnesota Optometric Association, American Optometric Association, and the Neuro-Optometric Rehabilitation Association. When she is not in the office, Dr. Schmiedt enjoys gardening and cooking, listening to live music, and exploring Minnesota’s hiking trails and state parks.