Ophthalmologist, Loden Vision Center
When nearsightedness caused him to change his plans to apply for flight training in the Air Force, it did not stop Thomas Bailey, MD, from realizing his dream of flying. Ironically it was his nearsightedness that guided him on the path of becoming an ophthalmologist. Today, Bailey not only has his commercial pilot’s license and his own plane, he also works to give youth their first experience with flying.
A Long Island native, Bailey graduated high school at 16 and headed to the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado to pursue aerospace engineering. At 16, he was the youngest in his class. When his nearsightedness worsened to the point he was not medically qualified to apply for flight school, Bailey changed directions and decided pre-med was his path.
For medical school, the Air Force sent Bailey to Georgetown University School of Medicine in Washington, DC. “I completed a general surgery internship at the USAF Medical Center on Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio with the intent of going into orthopedics,” said Bailey, who also served as a flight surgeon for the Air Force. “But it was while I was in my general surgery residency there, that I knew orthopedics was not for me. One day I wandered into the eye surgery suite and watched several procedures. I was hooked and decided to switch to ophthalmology.”
Bailey completed his residency at the Bowman Gray School of Medicine at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem North Carolina in 1985, serving as chief resident his final year. He then was stationed in the Philippines, where he was the chief of ophthalmology at Clark Air Force Base and covered all the Western Pacific.
“The Philippines was a really neat place,” said Bailey, who was almost part of history while stationed there. “During my time there, there was a coup attempt against the Aquino government. My wife and I had reservations to stay at a hotel in Manila but changed out minds when we walked in because we had heard another hotel had a better pool. An hour later, the hotel was taken over by the coup trying to overthrow the government, talk about a close call. They trashed the hotel and it all lasted about a week. There were about five such attempts while I was stationed in the Philippines, which made it an interesting time to be there.”
Bailey completed his time in the Air Force as the chief of ophthalmology service at Malcom Grow USAF Medical Center on Andrews AFB in Washington. He then joined a practice in Lynchburg, Virginia but relocated to Houston to complete an anterior segment surgery and retina fellowship. “My time in Houston was temporary since I was really looking to buy the practice of someone who was retiring,” said Bailey. “I found one in Shelby, North Carolina and in my time there, I brought a multi-specialty surgical center to the area. I am a strong believer in the value of surgical centers. They are cost effective, safe and more efficient than a hospital setting for outpatient surgeries especially for older patients.”
In 2011, Bailey joined Loden Vision Center at their Paris office, becoming the first ophthalmologist to reside and practice in the area in more than 15 years. “There was such a need for me here and that was very attractive to me,” said Bailey. “The Paris office had been staffed full-time by Dr. Carrico, with Dr. Loden and Dr. Dougherty coming in a couple of times a month to do surgery. Now I am here full-time and do most of the surgical procedures performed by our office. There was definitely a need and the practice has really grown.”
While his nearsightedness led him to ultimately become an ophthalmologist, his passion to fly never dwindled and thanks to his profession, his dream became a reality. “While I could not fly for the Air Force due to having to wear glasses and such, the technology evolved enough for me to get my pilot’s license more than 30 years ago and I have been flying ever since,” said Bailey.
Because he originally started out in aerospace engineering in the Air Force, Bailey put that knowledge to use in 1980 while he was in San Antonio finishing up his medical training. “I designed and built an airplane basically from scratch. I bought some of the parts, designed and built the control systems, laid out the wings and everything. I worked on it about a year and a half,” said Bailey. “I sold it to a group of investors right before it was finished as I was heading off to my residency. They finished it and were using it to fly around the country. It even made it onto the cover of Plane and Pilot magazine in 1983.”
Today, the instrument and multi-engine rated, FAA Certified Commercial Pilot owns a single engine plane. Bailey, who tries to fly each week, uses his skills and plane for traveling with his wife as well as to visit his six children and grandchildren who are scattered from the middle of the country to up and down the eastern seaboard. Bailey also uses his pilot skills and love of aeronautics as a volunteer with the Experimental Aircraft Association. “Through the Association’s Young Eagles Program, kids can get their first opportunity to fly in a plane,” said Bailey. “They can even take a ground school for free. I love being able to introduce young people to the world of flying and find it so rewarding.”
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