Photos courtesy of Thomas Welch
For many people, retirement means freedom from work and the power to relax and put their feet up. The dram of free time and work-free days is in the back of their minds whenever they’re on the job.
For other people, like Toledo’s Dr. Thomas Welch, that is not the case.
Bit of Background
Welch was born and raised in Toledo, but soon caught the travel bug. He wanted to leave Toledo while staying close for college, and opted to attend the University of Detroit to major in pre-medicine. Then he was off to Chicago, earning his medical degree from the Stritch School of Medicine at Loyola University before jetting off to complete his residency in internal medicine at the University of Colorado. Welch knew he wanted to specialize, and had always found the heart to be interesting during medical school. So, he flew back to his home state to complete his fellowship in cardiology at The Ohio State University – but he still wasn’t ready to settle down.
Moving on Up
The year was 1973, and the U.S. was in the midst of the Vietnam War. Welch decided to enlist in the air force, and he and his wife, Corinne, transferred to Travis Air Force Base near San Francisco. They remained in California until 1975, when Welch received a job offer from Mercy Health – Toledo, and flew in for an interview. Though moving back to Toledo wasn’t initially the plan, it seemed meant to be, especially now that he and Corinne had four children. And there’s something to be said for seeing Ohio again after time away.
“In California, it’s kind of brown. Coming back and seeing all the trees, I thought, ‘This is prettier than I remember,’” says Welch.
Thus began Welch’s 43-year career with Mercy Health in Toledo. It was 1975 and, Welch says, it was a good time to be a cardiologist.
“Cardiology was really exciting at that time … because there was an explosion in procedures and things that we could do,” he says. “The patients, too. The disease may not be hard to treat, but each patient is so unique, I liked their personalities. If I ever felt like I was getting a little tired or burnt out, I focused more on the patient, their personality and their family.”
Every physician deals with burnout in a unique way, and Welch dealt with his not only through his patients, but through keeping busy. Welch worked his way through Mercy Health first as chief of medicine, then chief of cardiology, then chief of staff. He worked as a professor at the University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences, and was on the board of trustees at Mercy Health’s St. Vincent Medical Center for 12 years. He was even asked to be a medical consultant on WTVG every Monday, giving northwestern Ohioans weekly health tips on the 6 p.m. news.
And, on top of all of this, Welch and Corinne had two more children – still, Welch wasn’t slowing down.
Never Slowing Down
The TV spot led to growing interest in his work. After reading an article on how to create a lasting legacy (“Have a son, plant a tree and write a book,” Welch says), he decided to pick up a pen, and Minute Health Tips was published in 1991.
He continued rising within Mercy Health and, in 2016, found himself as the chief clinical officer of the St. Vincent Medical Center. And though his title had continued to change up to that point, his passion for working with patients did not.
“I love the challenge of the science as well as the people – there are so many types of interesting people,” says Welch. “I added up how many patient touches I had. It came out to 175,000 patient touches over the last 43 years. That’s what I’m proud of.”
In June 2018, Welch retired from Mercy Health. Though he worried about getting bored, his schedule hasn’t lightened in retirement. He enjoys golfing, visiting his six children and 20 grandchildren, reading, and traveling. He attends church every day. And – no surprise here – plans to keep his medical license up to date, with hopes to volunteer with underserved clinics around the Toledo area.
“To keep me focused, I have a retirement mission statement,” Welch says. “My mission statement is to acquire peace, joy and tranquility and understand God’s meaning in my life through prayer, learning and service.”
Amanda DePerro is a contributing editor. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.
