© The Ledger Dr. Gerald Hubbell now at Clarkson Eyecare

LAKELAND – The Hubbell Eye Clinic sign in Lakeland will be replaced with Clarkson Eyecare to reflect a change in ownership.  

Gerard Hudson Hubbell, the namesake of the former eye clinic, will continue to see patients at his office at 924 S. Florida Ave. Hubbell’s staff and the opticians have also stayed with him to continue serving patients at Clarkson.

New Clarkson signs will be arriving soon, and the opticians and office workers will eventually don new uniforms.

The rebranding was announced in February after the new ownership took over, according to the Clarkson website, which is also the new landing page in web searches for the former business.  

“Patients can expect to experience the same personalized patient care as they have since 1977, simply under a new name,” said Diane Seward, communications director of EyeCare Partners, the new owners.

Seward said the Clarkson Eyecare office will continue to offer a complete line of professional eye care services, including comprehensive vision and eye health exams for adult and pediatric patients, contact lens fittings and care, emergency eye care and treatment of eye diseases. 

“As part of Clarkson Eyecare, patients will see the same great service along with expanded frame and promotion offerings in the coming months,” she said. 

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Hubbell retained ownership of the doctor’s office, which has a fair market value of $455,840, county records show. The amount of the transaction for the business was not immediately available. 

Hubbell, a Winter Haven native, was recognized by former U.S. Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush for his efforts to provide eyecare to low-income people in rural areas through the Vision USA program – a volunteer service he began in college. 

In 2016, Hubbell, then-age 66, was profiled in a Ledger report for his musical talents as a saxophone player in an age 55-plus band in Winter Haven. His love of music began in the fifth grade, the report said. He also has an aeronautical engineering degree and worked in avionics for the Air National Guard, and is an aficionado of fine sports cars, the report said. He holds a pilot’s license and was once a scuba instructor. 

The Clarkson Eyecare brand was founded in 1979 by optometrist Lawrence J. Jehling, whose first office was on Clarkson Road in Ellisville, Missouri, its website said. 

Clarkson Eyecare is owned by EyeCare Partners, which has a network of more than 300 ophthalmologists and 700 optometrists. 

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Signs are changing: Hubbell Eye Care now Clarkson Eyecare with change in ownership