Thomas R. Elmer Jr., MD '97

A volunteer with a vision

Volunteerism has always been a way of life for Thomas R. Elmer Jr., MD '97, who performed community service as a teenager and rose to the rank of Eagle Scout with the Boy Scouts of America.  After college, Elmer deferred his medical school admission at UB to spend a year in Colorado as a Holy Cross Associate.  As part of that volunteer service program, which focuses on community, spirituality, simple living and service, he lived with four women and two other men and worked in a nursery school for underprivileged children.  "It turned out to be the best year of my life," Elmer says.  "It was very rewarding, and it was that experience that made me want to do more volunteer service work after medical school."

Today Elmer is a successful surgeon with Fichte-Endl Eye Associates in Buffalo, NY, but he also continues to serve others as a medical missionary in Africa.  While he finds it satisfying to help his American patients see without glasses through lasik surgery, or to assist those whose vision is clouded by cataracts, he says that the impact of his work in Africa is more pronounced.  "There is no one for the patients to go to," Elmer says, "and even if there was they couldn't afford it, so their vision keeps getting cloudier until eventually they become blind.  When I take the patch off [after the surgery] and they can see, it's just unbelievable.  They are very grateful and it is extremely rewarding to be able to do that."

Setting out to make a difference

UB's School of Medicine was a natural choice for the Western New York native, both because of its proximity to his family and its excellent reputation.  One of his most memorable professors was Charles Severin, (currently interim associate dean for medical education), then a professor of anatomy who was also working toward his MD.  "He is a really great person, and it was unique for me to have him as my classmate and also as my professor," Elmer says.  Despite the rigors of medical school, Elmer continued to get involved, serving as a student representative and playing on a championship intramural roller hockey team.  In his fourth year he also traveled to China to study family medicine for a four-week rotation in international medicine.

Elmer entered medical school thinking that he would specialize in pediatrics or child psychology, but once he was exposed to surgery he realized that it was a better fit for his personality and goals.  "I liked working with my hands, the satisfaction, and the instantaneous results," Elmer says.  "It just seemed to make a lot of sense to me:  This is the problem and here is how we are going to fix it.  I really liked ophthalmology because I knew I was interested in doing missionary work and I felt that in that field I could make a big difference in someone's life."

Fostering humanitarianism

After 10 years of medical training capped by a fellowship in pediatric ophthalmology, Elmer was eager to make an immediate impact.  Turning down a number of lucrative job offers to follow his dream of overseas service, he chose to work with Mercy Ships (http://www.mercyships.org/).  The global charity operates a fleet of hospital ships, staffed with volunteers from around the world, which provide medical care, relief aid and training to the poor in developing nations.  The organization's Christian ethics and multinational affiliations appealed to Elmer, and he has volunteered with them three times, traveling to Sierra Leone in 2003 and 2004, and then to Liberia in 2005.  Elmer describes the experience as both demanding and exhilarating:  "We would screen the patients on shore," he says.  "It was totally overwhelming.  I saw close to 500-600 patients in two days, when a normal day here I see maybe 40.  After the evaluations we started operating, and you perform surgeries right on the ship, where they have three operating rooms.  I have done close to 400 surgeries with Mercy Ships."

It is no surprise that Elmer, who grew up on the Niagara River and volunteers on hospital ships, loves the water.  (In fact, he lived on a sailboat during his five year residency in New Orleans).  He recently purchased a home in Grand Island, NY that overlooks the river and he enjoys outdoor sports such as sailing, waterskiing, hiking, and snow skiing.  Hired by Fichte-Endl in late 2004, Elmer plans to take time off each year to volunteer with Mercy Ships.  He is also still involved with the ophthalmology residency program, where he hopes to inspire future physicians to give back to the global community.  He is currently establishing a resident rotation in international medicine and volunteerism.  Of his future plans Elmer says, "When I go back to Africa next May, I will bring a resident with me to assist and learn, and to foster that type of humanitarian effort in these younger residents."

Written by Jessica Dudek, BA '94
September 2005

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