The St. Luke’s staff was like a family, former employees say

MAUMEE, Ohio – When Dr. Thomas Boggs made the final call for the St. Luke’s Hospital May 8he was also discharged as the last doctor to work at the hospital.

In the village last call videoBoggs struggles to speak through the emotional strain of the moment.

“It started in the morning and it took a full day’s worth of work,” Boggs said. “We made progress with the nurses and doctors and firefighters and the EMS came out and we all remembered our stories and memories with the place.”

Boggs had eight years of experience as an emergency physician at Maumee Hospital.

Watching his home away from home close its doors was tough, he said, but now he’s grateful to be the assistant director of the residency program at the University of Toledo.

“I’ve gone from working here where we’ve done some teaching to being actively involved in teaching and helping to create new rounds of emergency medicine doctors, hopefully from here to eternity,” Boggs said.

From the patients to the nurses and hospital staff, Boggs said he did his best to treat everyone equally. Teresa Kanwinski, former vice president of patient care at St. Luke’s, said.

“You know, if you want to talk to somebody whose opinion you can trust, Tom Boggs is the guy,” said Kanwinski, now retired after 30 years at St. Luke’s.

Alyssa Ellinger, a former emergency room nurse at St. Luke’s, said Boggs was an “open book” when it came to questions.

“From the moment I walked into the emergency room, he was very welcoming,” said Ellinger, who transferred to ProMedica Flower Hospital in Sylvania. “An excellent manager, an excellent teacher.”

Ehlinger feared that closing St. Luke’s would separate her from colleagues she had been friends with for years. But after the move, she realized that many of the St. Luke’s were still in northwest Ohio, just a little more spread out. It’s different from working in the same building, but “no matter where we end up, someone from our family has to be with us (at St. Luke’s),” Ehlinger said.

Like any close-knit family, the former St. Luke’s staff is planning a reunion at Homecoming Park in Springfield Township from 3 to 9 p.m. June 2. Kanwinski said there will be food trucks and anyone with a St. Luke’s connection is welcome.

“Know that as a community you are not forgotten,” Boggs said. “You are always in our hearts and we are here to take care of you even when we are in different places.”