Doctors & Staff

Meet the experienced and friendly doctors and staff who make Stratford Eye Care Optometry a proud provider of vision care products and services in Hayward.

Meeral R. Bhakta, O.D.

Dr. Bhakta was raised in Rock Island, Illinois, a small town three hours west of Chicago.  She relocated to the Bay Area in 2013 and joined a private practice in the Central Valley shortly after. Dr. Bhakta completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago and her professional training at the Illinois College of Optometry.  She also completed her Master’s in Business Administration from Roosevelt University in Chicago.

Her clinical training began at the Illinois Eye Institute in Chicago where she focused on Primary Care, Urgent Care, Ocular Pathology and Low Vision Rehabilitation.  She received further training at private practices in Kansas and Florida focusing on Pediatrics and Binocular Vision and Corneal Diseases and Contact Lenses.  She finished her clinical training with an emphasis on Primary Care and Low Vision Rehabilitation at Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center in North Chicago.

Dr. Bhakta is currently serving as the Director of Corporate Relations for Alameda Contra Costa Counties Optometric Society.  She is also a member of the American Optometric Association, California Optometric Association, and Hayward Chamber of Commerce. Dr. Bhakta has participated in vision screenings for the local community in Illinois.  She has also traveled on a mission trip to Mexico providing comprehensive eye exams to underserved communities.  Her mission is to continue to provide quality eye care at the highest professional and clinical level.