JEFFERSON, Iowa – Nearly 40 years after choosing Greene County over bigger cities and bigger paychecks, Dr. Thomas Fagg still isn’t talking about himself. Instead, he is talking about the people. “I guess I hadn’t thought about what I will miss most when I retire, but I do want to say it has been my pleasure to serve the people of Greene County.”
Dr. Fagg’s career has spanned generations. One that saw him deliver babies, care for critically ill patients, cover the emergency room, assist in surgeries, answer late-night calls and build relationships that lasted decades. To him, those years were never about recognition. They were about keeping a promise he made to himself long before he ever wore a white coat. “I wanted to help people,” he said.
It sounds almost too simple, but that is how Dr. Fagg has always approached medicine. He grew up in a family dedicated to helping others, only through a different career path, the law. His father served as a federal appeals judge, his sister became a federal prosecutor and law could easily have been his future. Instead, he followed a different calling. “I have never regretted going in this direction,” he said.
When recruiters came calling after residency at Broadlawns in Des Moines, larger hospitals offered easier schedules and significantly more money. He chose Greene County because they needed a doctor, and that decision became a life’s work. But ask him what he will remember most about that career and he doesn’t mention procedures, diagnoses or milestones. He simply stated, “I will miss the people.”
Those relationships were built one conversation at a time. He often encouraged patients to make small changes that would shape the rest of their lives. “I have seen a lot of people make those changes, quitting smoking, losing the weight, exercising,” Dr. Fagg explained. “Those things don’t show up dramatically. But they do make a huge difference in people’s quality of life.”
He never simply prescribed healthy habits. Dr. Fagg lived them, working in activity whenever he could find the time. For years, after caring for patients all day and spending evenings with his family, he would head to the high school track late at night. “There are a lot of years I spent running in the dark,” he said. Retirement won’t alter that discipline one bit. “The day after I retire, I am going to get on my bike and just ride for an hour or two,” he said.
He also talks about the nurses, technicians, housekeeping and maintenance staff as well as fellow providers and every other person who helps make local healthcare possible. “They have all been great,” he said. “I hope they continue in the same spirit of working together to get the job done.”
When told that hundreds of patients had already begun thanking him on social media, his response was immediate. “When they are saying thank you to me, I hope it also is a thank you to all the other doctors that have been here through the years. Those providers worked tirelessly for their patients.”
It is an answer that perfectly captures the man Greene County has known for nearly 40 years, humble enough to share every bit of credit and grateful enough to see every patient as a privilege. “What a pleasure it has been to take care of everybody,” he said.
For the thousands of lives he has touched, that gratitude is returned. Thank you Dr. Fagg for choosing Greene County Medical Center and the Family Medicine Clinic and for spending thirty-eight years choosing it again, every single day.
In his retirement, Dr. Fagg is looking forward to spending more time with his wife, Rochelle, and their grandchildren. Between the two, their family now includes four physicians and another earning a doctorate—a legacy of caring that is continuing into the next generation.
Please join everyone at Greene County Medical Center and the Family Medicine Clinic in thanking Dr. Fagg and wishing him well at a come-and-go reception Friday, July 31, 2026, from 1 to 3 p.m. in the Education Center, 1000 W Lincoln Way in Jefferson.