|
Dr. Thomas Tomzak, who is mayor of Fredericksburg, is leaving private practice and the hospital. He will provide prenatal care for the Health Department. Here, he examines a patient with assistant Darlene Hernandez. |
Dr. Thomas J. Tomzak will leave private practice and his job at Mary Washington Hospital to work for the Rappahannock Area Health District.
Tomzak began seeing patients at the Health Department yesterday. He will continue in elective office as Fredericksburg's mayor.
The shift means that Tomzak will soon depart his current duties as private-practice gynecologist and physician leader at the Fredericksburg hospital to treat the mostly poor and uninsured patients who visit the Health Department.
"It was a difficult decision. I thought about it long and hard," Tomzak said.
"I guess I'm kinda burned out on the business of medicine," he added. "This is just a pure clinical job."
Tomzak will work part time at the Health Department for two months and then full time beginning in October.
He said he will notify his private-practice patients soon about the shift. He is negotiating with the hospital to resign his post as chief of service in the women's and children's division by spring.
"We're thrilled for the community that he is going to fill this role," said Kathleen Allenbaugh, hospital spokeswoman. "He's going to be missed very much."
Tomzak's main duty at the Health Department will be to travel the district, providing prenatal care at maternity clinics in the city and four surrounding counties. The clinics are among the most popular of the Health Department offerings. The staff monitors nearly 1,000 women a year during their pregnancies.
Tomzak also will supervise the department's nurse practitioners and treat patients in the the cancer clinics and sexually transmitted disease clinics, said Dr. Donald Stern, health district director.
Tomzak called his shift to public health "the final piece of my professional career." He has long been interested in social issues, such as teen pregnancy and the importance of fathers in their children's lives. He has served as a volunteer for a number of nonprofit groups, including a stint as a member of the board of directors of the Fredericksburg Department of Social Services.
"It might help me identify kids at risk so we can establish a good safety net for them," he said.
At a City Council meeting last month, Tomzak asked the council to support new programs that focus on parental responsibility. Government money alone will never be enough to help at-risk children, he said.
"If every baby from the nursery went home to a secure, safe environment with nurturing role models, that would obviate a lot of social problems," he said this week. "When that doesn't happen, everything else that we do is catch-up."
Tomzak, 59, has practiced in Fredericksburg for 21 years. He is a former Pratt Medical Center doctor, who is now associated with Dr. Patricia Murray at Gynecology Associates of Fredericksburg.
He is a native of Wisconsin and a graduate of the Creighton University School of Medicine in Omaha, Neb. He did his residency at the Naval Regional Medical Center in Oakland, Calif. He is board certified in obstetrics and gynecology, though he gave up his obstetric duties in 2003.
At the Health Department, Tomzak joins Dr. Teresita C. Canizares, who has been on medical leave. Canizares was scheduled to return to work yesterday part time. She will lead the department's breast and cervical cancer program and help with maternity and sexually transmitted disease clinics, Stern said.
Tomzak said he will focus on treating patients in the office. Obstetricians at Mary Washington usually deliver the babies of Health Department patients through the Obstetrical Community Clinic there.
Tomzak made his first try for elective office in 2004 and was the surprise victor in Fredericksburg's mayoral election. He said his new job should not conflict with his duties as mayor. A portion of the Health Department's budget comes from the localities. Fredericksburg has appropriated $437,000 for the department this year.
"If there's any conflict, the city attorney will let me know and I'll just recuse myself," Tomzak said.
As for seeking re-election in 2008, Tomzak said he is undecided.
"I have thought about it, and I've talked to some people about it, but I haven't made the decision yet," he said.
He joked that there was one "primary" he had to win first, the one with his wife, Suzanne.
"It does depend on family," he said.
Staff reporter Emily Battle contributed to this story.
To reach JIM HALL:
Email: jhall@freelancestar.com
