As a high school student in New York, Seattle-born Jack O’Handley, with Mount Carmel Health System, didn’t have a clue what he wanted to do. He received a scholarship to St. John’s University in New York City, but wasn’t feeling fulfilled. As an avid reader, he stumbled upon the Trappists, a Catholic order of monks, during his studies.
“They have the happiest lives, just happy people. I also thought I was going to die young because I thought the good only die young." - Dr. John O'Handley
From 1959-1965, O’Handley passed his time doing manual labor as a Trappist monk in Kentucky. He and the other monks worked on a farm, making cheese, though they also spent time reading and learning. Two names O’Handley found between the pages, and that resonate with him still today, were those of Albert Schweitzer, a humanitarian, Nobel Peace Prize recipient and physician; and Thomas Dooley, a U.S. Naval physician known for his humanitarian work during the Vietnam War and in Cambodia.
It was through those role models that O’Handley got the inspiration to pursue medicine. He left the monastery, went to medical school at the University of Missouri and met his wife, Hannah, who is from Ohio. The pair would return to Ohio, and O’Handley began practicing family medicine in Lancaster in 1975. After 14 years in family medicine, O’Handley once again felt as if there was something else calling him.
“After a while in practice, I felt, was I getting enough bang for my buck? Was I really having an effect on society?” says O’Handley. “I thought that by teaching, I had more of an influence on a larger number of people. What I can teach to residents, they’ll incorporate into their practices and that influences the way they approach patients.”
O’Handley found himself in the residency director position at Mount Carmel and then moved to medical director for Mount Carmel’s Community Outreach in 2001. He taught residents out of the Mobile Medical Coach, which provides basic medical care to the homeless and other underserved populations in Columbus. It delivers basic care to patients such as vaccinations and regular checkups, and sometimes more extensive help, including mental health counseling and urgent health needs. He’s now worked in the mobile coach for 25 years.
Trappists and mobile doctors may seem to be in completely different fields, but what O’Handley learned during his time as a monk is interwoven into his medical career even today.
“Do unto others as you would have others do unto you,” says O’Handley. “Populations that need the most medical care, to me, are the homeless. (Mount Carmel’s) mission is to help the poor and underserved. I’m lucky to be working for an organization that has that mission.”
O’Handley practices exactly what he preaches. He runs a 5K almost every weekend and invites others to join. Many of his running buddies, he says, are his students and residents. O’Handley inspires them to lead healthy lives, and they inspire him to continue doing what he does in the medical coach.
“They really keep you up to date and on your toes. You have to stay one step ahead of them,” O’Handley says.
“It’s good to see their enthusiasm, their love for what they do, and the energy they have and bring to their work. It keeps you going.” - Dr. John O'Handley
O’Handley’s dedication hasn’t gone unnoticed. In August, the Ohio Academy of Family Physicians recognized him as the Family Medicine Educator of the Year for his work with students and residents, as well as for his passion for helping the underserved. O’Handley says it validates the work he’s done, and it was humbling to receive the award.
“I didn’t turn it down,” he says, laughing.
O’Handley and Hannah have four adult children and eight grandchildren. He still enjoys reading and running, and also spends his free time swimming and cheering on The Ohio State University football team and Cincinnati Bengals. O’Handley has bounced around to various practices throughout his life and is happy to have wound up where he is today.
“I always feel I’ve been pretty blessed with the family that I was raised in, the country that I live in and the organization that I work for,” he says. “I feel a duty to help others because of that. Not everybody has that advantage.”
Amanda DePerro is a contributing writer. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.
About the Expert
John O’Handley, MD, serves as medical director for Mount Carmel Health System’s Community Outreach, teaching residents out of the Mobile Medical Coach. After 14 years in private practice in Lancaster, Ohio, O’Handley joined Mount Carmel in 1995 as program director of the Family Medicine Residency Program. Through the Mobile Coach, O’Handley reaches underserved populations such as the homeless with chronic and acute medical problems, diagnostic tests, minor surgeries, free medication and more. He also teaches medical students and residents. He completed his degree at the University of Missouri, residency at St. John’s Mercy Medical Center in St. Louis and a fellowship at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.
