Thomas Toth, MD

Bio

I was born in Trenton, New Jersey, the son of an immigrant steelworker who was a World War II veteran. Having decided that losing my Jersey accent would be a positive development, I made a quantum leap and went to Harvard for my bachelor's degree. I graduated in 1979 with honors and a degree in Chemistry and Physics.

After graduation, I had a yearning to travel and explore teaching. I was awarded a fellowship to teach in Australia at the Geelong College, a secondary school. I found teaching to be challenging and fun at times, but I wanted to do more as a career. First, however, my wanderlust would be satiated. I picked a circuitous path to the island continent through the South Pacific and then back through Asia, Europe, and North Africa. That journey was a year and a half long phantasmagoria. I learned more about myself and other cultures than possibly all of my other years combined.

Upon returning to the United States in 1981, I decided to explore the two careers then of most interest to me: geophysics and medicine. After working for two years in the shaky field of seismology, medicine won and I enrolled in medical school at the University of Colorado. I received my MD in 1987. I also tried to ski my brains out in the Rockies. I went on to the University of Utah and its affiliated hospitals for my internal medicine internship and residency from 1987 until 1990.

I opted to join Kaiser Permanente over numerous other offers when I finished my residency. Kaiser Permanente attracted me because of the variety of experiences it offered including outpatient and inpatient care, teaching, and research. I was also impressed with a practice environment where the doctors made the decisions and where quality of care was taken seriously. I began my career with Kaiser Permanente in the Sacramento area in 1990 and then relocated to Santa Rosa in 1999. I have found that Kaiser Permanente has continually improved over the years, both for physicians and for patients.

Tens of thousands of patient visits later, it continues to be a privilege to be a physician, to have the opportunity to have a positive impact on so many lives. I also have had the opportunity to teach medical students and residents from the University of California. Currently, I serve as an Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine for the University of California, San Francisco. Within Kaiser Permanente, I also have been involved in various quality assurance and improvement activities over the years.

Happily settled in Santa Rosa, my wife and I have two teenage children. When not in the clinic or hospital, I enjoy time off with them. We all love to travel. My other interests include snow skiing (the steeper and deeper the better) and photography.

My Philosophy Regarding Your Health
My general philosophy as your physician is that we are partners in caring for your health. Healthy lifestyle choices can go a long way towards achieving and maintaining good health, especially good dietary choices, regular exercise, and not smoking. I try to practice what I preach: for example, my commute since moving to Santa Rosa is a two mile walk to work. My patients range in age from teenagers to over one hundred years old, all with interesting life experiences. I look forward to learning more about YOU as well as your health problems. Welcome to my practice!

Undergraduate Education
1979 BA, Chemistry and Physics, Harvard College, Cum Laude in general studies

Professional Affiliations
Diplomat American Board of Internal Medicine 1990, recertification 2000
Member American College of Physicians
Member Sonoma County Medical Association
Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco
Member Association of Clinical Faculty, University of California, San Francisco

My Credentials
Medical school University of Colorado School of Medicine, Denver, CO
Internship University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT
Residency University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT
Board certification Internal Medicine, American Board of Internal Medicine

My Medical Specialty

More details about my specialty:

I chose to specialize in internal medicine because I enjoy its general breadth of training and the detective work involved in investigating challenging and, at times, perplexing diagnoses. Since 1996, I have split my time between being an outpatient clinician and an inpatient hospitalist. I enjoy treating the variety of patients and diseases in both settings, and I feel that the two are complementary experiences, each making me a better physician in the other setting. I like being a doctor, because I have the opportunity to improve the lives of my patients, occasionally to the extreme example of saving a life.

My specialty interests and affiliations within my field:

Diplomate American Board of Internal Medicine 1990, recertification 2000
Member American College of Physicians
Member Sonoma County Medical Association
Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco
Member Association of Clinical Faculty, University of California, San Francisco

Current projects or research:

I am involved in various quality improvement projects in the hospital and clinic, including the care of patients with respiratory illnesses, such as pneumonia, and with cardiovascular problems, such as myocardial infarction (heart attack).

Great health resources that I refer to:

New England Journal of Medicine, Annals of Internal Medicine, Journal of the American Medical Association.

Interests

Hobby Photos & Links:

My son and I enjoying the view of Lake Tahoe

Family & Friends

People in my life:

My wife completed her master's degree in Counseling Psychology at Dominican University and is a therapist. We met during my last year of medical school in Denver and we have been happily married for over twenty years.

My children and people I care about:

Our children are now teenagers, being launched into college and the work world. My wife's therapist background has been useful in their teenage years.

Our family includes our pets. Raoul is our crazy calico cat. Raoul stories are legendary. For example, she (yes, Raoul is a she) was adopted for free but has subsequently cost over a thousand dollars in veterinary bills after being bitten by a rattlesnake. Unfortunately, she is not covered by Kaiser Permanente. Daphne is our new miracle kitten, born to a mother who had allegedly been spayed. I could write volumes about them. They make us laugh.

Travel

An adventure I've had:

My most exciting adventure was the year and a half solo trip around the world I took after graduating from college. The impetus (and financing) came from the fellowship I was awarded to teach at the Geelong College, and Australia is where I spent half of that time. The rest was spent in the south Pacific, New Zealand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Burma, Nepal, India, Europe, and Morocco. I was fascinated and humbled by the several months I spent in South Asia, the cradle of civilization. Witnessing firsthand the miasma of poverty in cities such as Calcutta sticks vividly in my memory to this day. In the empty nest and retirement years I hope to make a personal contribution as an international health volunteer.

Favorite place in the world:

Europe is my favorite place to travel because it offers such a diversity of cultures, history, languages, food, etc. Within Europe, I especially like the countries along the Mediterranean and Adriatic Seas.

One of my recent trips:

My wife and I recently traveled to Prague, Budapest, Venice, and Paris with a side trip to Slovenia and Croatia. I am constantly impressed by the deprivation experienced by the Europeans caused by the many wars of the twentieth century, their resilience, and their joie de vivre. I am fascinated by the geopolitical evolution of eastern Europe and the Balkan Peninsula that has occurred even in my lifetime.

A Photo of One of My Favorite Places:

and to Venice

Our last European trip included visits to Budapest