Dr. Maria Domingues shows off her technology at her Lyndhurst practice, seen below.
By Anthony Machchinski
Observer Correspondent
In April 2012, The Observer featured an article about Dr. Maria Domingues, a young and energetic optometrist beginning her practice at Lyndhurst, her second office.
Nearly two years later, the ever-jovial and kind-hearted Domingues continues to expand her business while still maintaining her attentiveness towards each individual patient.
“I want to be able to still offer that one-to-one service (to my patients) and have the ability to talk with them on a personal level,” Domingues said.
While Domingues is passionate about her career, her path to optometry was not conventional.
Domingues started her career at New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) where she got a degree in engineering, but soon realized that she’d developed another career focus.
“I had a friend that suggested that I would be good with patients,” Domingues explained. “I was looking for different graduate programs and optometry just caught my eye.”
Domingues took her newfound love to Ft. Lauderdale Fla., where she graduated with her doctor of optometry degree from Nova Southeastern College of Optometry in 2009. Over the past two years, Domingues opened up her newest office in Fort Lee, while bringing in her younger sister, Carla Domingues, to help maintain her practice’s family feel.
Carla Domingues, also a former Kearny resident, attended Queen of Peace before graduating cum laude from Seton Hall in 2009. Carla Domingues recently completed her doctorate of optometry at the Pennsylvania College of Optometry in 2013.
“I want this to be a family business,” Domingues said of Pink Vision Associates. “I’m taking this one day at a time. I don’t want to expand to the point where I can’t (make this a family business) anymore.”
Domingues credits her successful business to word of mouth and good patient referrals, both of which stem from her caring personality.
“You have to be fair and honest,” Domingues explained. “If I see something, I try to explain to the patient why I perform other tests, or why they need glasses. I strive for good education and lots of availability.”
However, the road to success hasn’t always been easy for the former Kearny native. One of the biggest problems for the young doctor is the perception that her lack of professional experience hinders her ability.
With her doctorate of optometry and knowledge of the latest technology, the 32-yearold Domingues says not to judge a book by its cover.
“Its always an adjustment period,” Domingues says. “Obviously older doctors have the experience, but we still have the newer technology, we’ve learned about the newest studies. We’re able to apply the newest and latest information.”
With her new office in Fort Lee, as well as current ones in Lyndhurst and Irvington, Domingues believes that one of the advantages to Pink Vision Associates is their flexible availability.
“We can see patients of all ages and backgrounds,” said Domingues, who is also fluent in Spanish and Portuguese.
A recent advantage of Pink Vision Associates is their online appointment scheduling, which Domingues said is monitored and answered quickly.
Those searching for more information or looking to schedule an appointment can visit pinkvisionassociates.com.
Pink Vision Associates’ offices are located at 348 Ridge Road in Lyndhurst, 1068 Clinton Ave. in Irvington, and 1562 Lemoine Ave. in Fort Lee.
