Located at 1900 Oro Dam Blvd., the practice was indeed small, but efficient. The 700-square-foot office housed the examination rooms, waiting room, optical department, and storage- making use of every square inch of the space. Though small, the practice already had a great reputation in town for high-quality eye care and optical products, and Dr. Carlson was only determined to make it better. After 11 years, the practice had reached its maximum capacity at its original location, and with optometry becoming more focused on medical procedures than simply glasses and contact lens care, he realized it was finally time to expand. He relocated the practice in 2001 to a 2,000-square-foot office building in Mission Square, adding new testing, retinal photography, a larger optical, and quadrupling the size of his staff. It was the perfect space and functioned beautifully for the following 19 years.

In late 2019, Dr. Carlson was approached by Doctors Isaac Barthelow and Anthony Rudick of Ridge Eye Care to partner on a new, larger state-of-the-art office on Oro Dam Blvd. Citing the need for increased eye care throughout Butte County, a location in Oroville was the perfect addition to Ridge Eye Care's offerings throughout Northern California. Having heard of Dr. Carlson's stellar reputation in the community for years, he was the natural partner for their new location. Dr. Carlson called some of their providers and secretly "shopped their clinics" with a staff member only to find their culture was perfectly compatible with his.

He agreed to partner with Ridge Eye Care, and Table Mountain Eye Care in Oroville was born. "Doctors Barthelow and Rudick were very generous in keeping everyone from my staff onboard at the new practice." Dr. Carlson stated, "They made the transition very easy, and I quickly found they lived by the golden rule: they treated me the way they would want to be treated if they were in the same situation. It really meant a lot to me." Asked about the benefits of the merged office versus his own, Dr. Carlson laughed, “I don't have to be the head cook and bottle washer anymore. Healthcare has become much more complex over the years. I would spend a number of hours after clinic with a computer repair person trying to keep systems running, and it was becoming more and more difficult to keep up with government reporting and compliance. Add on all of the administrative duties, and it really was becoming too much. With the new partnership, I can concentrate on delivering excellent patient care and spending my free time learning to take even better care of my patients. The organization is large enough where they have all of the people necessary to take the administrative duties off my hands." In regards to the office itself, Dr. Carlson commented, "It's just beautiful. It's a much larger space, and the WOW factor for patients is really impressive. We have updated technology and equipment, and we've drastically increased the capability to provide care to a greater number of people.

When the last long-running ophthalmology practice in Oroville retired, it really left a large gap in patient coverage. Our new office allows patients to be seen quickly again rather than having to wait for months. Happy in the new office, Dr. Carlson made sure to add that he loves the opportunity to collaborate with multiple like-minded providers in the same space. "We look at everything we do from the patient's point of view. Our policies and procedures are patient-friendly and patient-centric." He said, "It's just the right way to practice medicine." Having raised four children with his wife in Oroville, and being part of the community for the past 30 years, Dr. Carlson considers it a blessing to have landed in Northern California and been able to provide care to the community for as long as he has. As his patients are sure to agree, we feel blessed he chose Oroville to be his home.