Meet the team

About Dr. Parnell

Optometrist

Dr. Tara Parnell founded Perceptions Eye Health & Wellness in 2004. A North Carolina native, Tara moved to Southport in 2000, drawn to the area beaches and outdoor community lifestyle. Tara received her Bachelor of Science degree from North Carolina State University and her Doctorate from the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Optometry. She is a member of the American Optometric Association, the North Carolina State Optometric Society, and the Southeastern District Optometric Society. She serves on the Board of Directors for the NCOS PAC and has served on the NCOS education committee for paraoptometric training.

Dr. Parnell takes a personalized approach to eye and health care and has a deep passion for learning and applying principles to help her patients build resilience and optimize their health. She continues to pursue additional training in the field of functional and nutritional medicine, and focuses on the body as a whole system, not just individual parts. This type of medicine treats the underlying cause of health and eye problems that often are overlooked. Dr. Parnell focuses on educating her patients and providing them knowledge and understanding to help them learn how to prevent eye disease and how to promote healthy eyes and vision. She is passionate about helping patients uncover the vital and often missing layer of care that helps them make lasting diet, lifestyle and behavior changes that reduce the risk of developing chronic eye disease and other systemic diseases that affect the eyes and vision. She has extensive training in dry eye disease and has developed a specialty dry eye relief center within Perceptions.

When she is not taking care of patients, she can be found hanging out with her family and friends, spending as much time outdoors in nature as possible. She enjoys traveling, reading, and spending time boating and enjoying our beaches. She loves to exercise and cook healthy meals because it plays such an important role in our health and wellness routine. She believes that food is medicine and we can address most chronic diseases by choosing what we put in our bodies. Dr. Parnell loves serving her patients and is dedicated to making sure they have an extraordinary, personalized experience when visiting Perceptions.