Meet Your Doctors: Dr. Leslie Coffee-Gallagher

Dr. Leslie Coffee-Gallagher, OD, FAAO has been practicing optometry for 12 years now in Jackson County. She practices at Lifetime Eye Care in Holton with her business partner, Dr. Nicole Meerpohl, OD.

A native of Alma, Gallagher earned her undergraduate degree from Kansas State University.  She then attended and graduated from Southern California College of Optometry in Fullerton, Calif.

“When I moved to California for graduate school, I never thought I would move back to Kansas,” Dr. Gallagher said. “However, after a couple years in Southern California, I missed the Midwest terribly.”

Dr. Gallagher then completed an additional yearlong cornea residency program in Tahlequah, Okla.

“The cornea is the front surface of the eye, and there are many conditions and diseases which can cause limited vision in glasses,” she said. “My specialty training is fitting these patients in special, gas permeable contact lenses which then can restore their vision to normal levels. It is extremely challenging, yet very rewarding work.”

Dr. Gallagher gets referrals from surgeons all over Kansas and Missouri.

“I see patients from Wichita and Kansas City, and they always remark how nice our community is,” Dr. Gallagher said.

Dr. Gallagher has three children, Hayden, 16; Gracie, 11; and Luke, 8. She is a big German shepherd lover. She enjoys attending her kids’ activities, doing yoga, running and shooting blue rock. She is a member of Trinity Lutheran Church in Holton.

“I love the Jackson County community for a million reasons,” she said. “I am most proud of how we come together to take care of each other in times of difficulty. When a family loses their home from a fire or loses a loved one, the community support is amazing.”

Dr. Gallagher’s one piece of eye health advice is to avoid or quit tobacco use as it greatly increases the risk of macular degeneration.