PEORIA MAGAZINE July 2022

S P O T L I G H T

AN EYE ON PEORIA Illinois Eye Center has soared under Dr. Thomas Wyman

BY AMY TALCOTT

F rom a one-man ophthalmology practice to a state-of-the-art eye center with 24 physicians and a staff numbering in the hundreds, Illinois Eye Center has been at the forefront of providing eye care services to Peoria area patients for more than 60 years. One constant and driving force has been Dr. Thomas Wyman, whose father, Dr. George Wyman, founded a small, local ophthalmology practice in the 1940s. After serving in the Navy during World War II, Dr. George Wyman was looking for a larger Illinois city than his native Dixon for his practice. Peoria fit the bill, and in 1945 he bought a practice in the Jefferson Building downtown. In 1957, he relocated to 1200 Hamilton Blvd., where the practice would grow dramatically over the next 50 years, due largely to his son, Dr. Thomas Wyman.

SETTING THEIR SIGHTS The two Wymans tag-teamed on what was already a bustling practice. “Before I joined, the wait to see my father was one year for a routine appointment,” said Wyman. “Once I came on board, it dropped to six months, and within six months after that, it was back to one year.” Between the wait time and the number of patients being referred to Chicago or St. Louis for specialty care, the Wymans made a decision. “For someof our older patients, Chicago was the face of the moon,” saidWyman. “So I suggested we recruit subspecialty ophthalmologists and grow the practice – and that’s what we did.” Dr. Steven Sicher was the first to join in 1980. “Steve was a corneal specialist … and the first non-family member in our practice,” Wyman explained. “As

Wyman the son initially thought he’d become a neurologist, but ultimately decided on ophthalmology. “I was out of the Army, single and living in Denver because it was a lovely place to be,” he explained. “But I was unable to find a practice where I could perform surgery and hone my skills. Coming back to Peoria afforded me that opportunity.” But joining his father’s practice came with some trepidation. “My father was a furious worker all his life,” said the younger Wyman. “He loved what he did, so I wouldn’t call him a workaholic. But I never really knew him growing up, so when I came back to Peoria in 1977 to join his practice, in a way he was kind of a stranger. “It turned out he had a very wry sense of humor that I hadn’t realized, and he really enjoyed interacting with his patients.”

34 JULY 2022 PEORIA MAGAZINE