Laurelwood Optometry San Mateo

Karen Collom, OD, FAAO

Dr. Karen Collom graduated from the University of California Berkeley with an undergraduate degree in Biophysics in 1989. She then went on to the University of California Berkeley School of Optometry for her Doctor of Optometry degree in 1993 and completed a Primary Care residency at the Eye Institute of the Pennsylvania College of Optometry in 1994.

Since then, Dr. Collom was voted "Young Optometrist of the Year" in 1999 by the California Optometric Association, and has served as the President of the Bay Area Optometric Council and of the San Mateo County Optometric Society. She also served on the California Optometric Association Nomination Committee.

Dr. Collom volunteers at the Samaritan House Eyecare Clinic in San Mateo and participates in both the California Vision Project and the AOA InfantSEE programs. She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry and holds memberships in the California Optometric Association and the American Optometric Association. She also volunteers as a Mentor for the Bay Area Optometric Council Mentorship program for Optometry Students at UC Berkeley School of Optometry.

She enjoys swimming, hiking, traveling, and skiing with her family.

About Our Practice

Laurelwood Optometry is located in the Laurelwood Shopping Center of San Mateo, near the College of San Mateo. Our practice was built on the commitment to providing quality eye care — including diagnosis, treatment and management of various ocular diseases, prescribing eyeglasses, and fitting and managing general and specialty contact lenses — all within a friendly and low pressure environment.

We want you to participate in the care of your eyes. We set aside enough time in your examination appointments for questions to be asked and answered.

Community Service

Dr. Collom volunteers at the Samaritan House Eyecare Clinic in San Mateo to provide eye examination services to the underserved. Our practice regularly donates to both the Samaritan House and the Second Harvest Food Bank.

We also support several ongoing community initiatives:

• Lions Club Eyeglass Collection: We collect old eyeglasses — including sunglasses and over-the-counter readers — donated to the Lions Club and distributed through optometry student volunteer trips to help people in need around the world.
• The Crayon Initiative: We collect new and used crayons that are recycled into new ones and donated to schools, hospitals, arts programs, and other organizations that serve children.
• Bausch & Lomb One by One Recycling: Patients can drop off used contact lenses and blister packs at our office to be recycled through Bausch & Lomb's recycling program.

Languages Spoken

Our staff speaks English and Cantonese.