Growing up in an Amish-Mennonite family in rural Leacock Township, Dr. Thomas Fisher recognized a need for doctors who could relate to the Plain community.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe often tried home remedies and often reserved going to the doctor for when we were sick,\u201d Fisher said. \u201cWe rarely did preventative visits.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s why, early on in his medical training, Fisher, who is now 30, knew he had something special to offer.<\/p>\n
\u201cI felt I could be a culturally competent physician, someone who understands the culture and values of the patient and understands where the patient is coming from,\u201d Fisher said. \u201cA lot of physicians get very frustrated, taking care of the Plain community, because of \u2026 their preferences for medical care, and I grew up in that culture, so I understand that culture.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fisher graduated from residency in June and opened his Earl Township-based osteopathic manipulative medicine practice, Legacy Osteopathic, July 13.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Dr. Thomas Fisher performs Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment on Crystal Salvaggio, of South Annville Township, Lebanon County, inside Legacy Osteopathic at 127 Peters Road in Earl Township on Monday, Aug. 3, 2026.<\/p>\n
BLAINE SHAHAN | Staff Photographer<\/p>\n
Osteopathic medicine<\/strong><\/p>\n Like allopaths, who receive a doctor of medicine degree (MD), osteopaths, who earn a doctor of osteopathic medicine degree (DO), are fully licensed physicians who attend medical school. A main principle of osteopathic philosophy is an integrative approach to medicine, in that \u201ca person is made up of body, mind and spirit and you really need to treat the whole person in order to optimize health,\u201d said Dr. Jennifer Kendall, program lead for the physical medicine and rehabilitation spine program at Hennepin Healthcare in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and trustee on the board of the American Osteopathic Association.<\/p>\n Most osteopaths use osteopathic manipulative medicine, an approach in which doctors use their hands to reposition the body into its natural structure, to complement other treatments, said Dr. Christopher Scheid, medical director of UPMC post-acute and senior care services at UPMC Central PA, who supervised Fisher during his residency.<\/p>\n Fisher, who felt osteopathic manipulative medicine would be a good fit for the Plain community, is unique in that it is his main focus.<\/p>\n \u201cWith the Amish community being primarily in agriculture, farming and construction, they have a lot of musculoskeletal complaints,\u201d Fisher said, \u201cand osteopathic manipulative medicine is specifically suited to address those problems in a holistic way.\u201d<\/p>\n OSTEOPATHIC MANIPULATIVE MEDICINE<\/p>\n From the outside, an osteopathic manipulative medicine physician may sound similar to a chiropractor. But they are very different, said Dr. Jennifer Kendall, program lead for the physical medicine and rehabilitation spine program at Hennepin Healthcare in Minneapolis, Minnesota.<\/p>\n \u201cWe (osteopaths) have gone through medical school and then specialty training to be able to diagnose and treat a patient and then we are working with all treatments for the patients and then use OMT (osteopathic manipulative therapy) as an additional thing to optimize the treatments that we are performing,\u201d Kendall said. \u201cIt\u2019s the OMM in conjunction with the other treatments to make sure that they are getting the best care possible is what \u2026 differentiates us from our chiropractic colleagues.\u201d<\/p>\n Examples of conditions osteopathic manipulative medicine can help patients with include: concussions, headaches and back pain. Dr. Thomas Fisher also treats pregnant women with round ligament pain and babies who have trouble latching during breastfeeding. The specialty can also be used in conjunction with antibiotics if a person has pneumonia, to \u201crestore normal diaphragm motion\u201d and \u201crestore normal ribcage motions so that the cough is more productive,\u201d Kendall said.<\/p>\n Background<\/strong><\/p>\n Fisher\u2019s father grew up Old Order Amish, but left the Amish community during Rumspringa, the period during an Amish person\u2019s youth when they are permitted more social freedom, before choosing to settle down in the faith or leave the church. Fisher\u2019s mother grew up in the Amish-Mennonite church, also known as Beachy Amish, the community in which Fisher was raised at Weavertown Amish Mennonite Church.<\/p>\n The Amish-Mennonite community, according to Steven Nolt, professor of history and Anabaptist studies and director of the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies at Elizabethtown College, has \u201chistoric Amish roots but would be quite different from the Old Order Amish in a number of ways: their dress is much less distinctive, they drive cars, worship in church buildings rather than in homes, \u2026 few speak Pennsylvania Dutch.\u201d<\/p>\n Fisher, who has a bushy, rust-colored beard, wears stylish button-down shirts and khaki pants. He drives a beige 2004 Toyota Avalon. But he does speak Pennsylvania Dutch, which is especially useful when relating to children who haven’t learned English yet.<\/p>\n One of five children, Fisher was homeschooled, which allowed him a flexible schedule. In high school he worked at Lapp Valley Farm, feeding the calves, milking cows, mowing and painting fences.<\/p>\n When Fisher\u2019s interest in science piqued as a teenager, his mom, who had a GED diploma, helped find outside opportunities for him, including Advanced Placement courses.<\/p>\n \u201cMy parents were very progressive of the fact that they encouraged the children to do whatever we wanted to do, and they really supported us,\u201d Fisher said.<\/p>\n After high school, Fisher went on to Cedarville University, a Christian college in southwestern Ohio.<\/p>\n The rigor of higher education was a shock at first.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a tough transition. I remember going to the first couple of classes. Those first couple of \u2026 tests were very, very challenging,\u201d Fisher said. \u201cI buckled down and got the help that I needed. I had to work hard to get to where I am today.\u201d<\/p>\n Following graduation from Cedarville, Fisher attended West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine in Lewisburg, West Virginia. He completed two years of residency at UPMC Lititz and one year at UPMC Central PA in Harrisburg. He is now board-certified in family medicine with a distinction in osteopathic manipulative medicine.<\/p>\n During residency, he had an opportunity to work with all types of patients.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s a very likeable personality,\u201d said Scheid. \u201cHe\u2019s great with his patients. When I was supervising him, he was able to take care from patients from all walks of life, not just the Plain community.\u201d<\/p>\n Breaking out on his own<\/strong><\/p>\n While it was always a goal of Fisher\u2019s to start his own practice, he didn\u2019t expect it to happen so quickly.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been in the back of my mind for a decade or more, and … the pieces really started to fall together with a lot of community support, a lot of community connections,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s the patients that make this work. When I recognized the need and the opportunity, I was thinking – now is as good a time as any.\u201d<\/p>\n Fisher is the only physician among his siblings and the first to attend college, but an entrepreneurial spirit runs in the family.<\/p>\n Fisher\u2019s father, Joseph Fisher<\/a>, started several businesses over the years, most notably an email service for the Plain community. Thomas Fisher\u2019s sister, Rosina Lapp, owns Lancaster Sewing Co. in Intercourse with her husband. One of his brothers, Caleb Fisher, is a professional farrier, building shoes for horses. Another brother, Conrad Fisher<\/a>, is a professional musician and owns a recording studio in Mifflin, Juniata County. And Thomas Fisher\u2019s youngest brother \u2013 Joseph Fisher \u2013 has his own guitar-making business.<\/p>\n \u201cMy whole family is very entrepreneurial and that\u2019s really because \u2026 my parents were really encouraging us in whatever we wanted to do,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n An unusual healthcare model<\/strong><\/p>\n Over the years, as Fisher observed insurance-based healthcare models, he determined he did not want to participate in that type of care, as it felt it encouraged rushed visits.<\/p>\n \u201cI want people to feel cared for and listened to when they come here and not taking insurance allows me to do that,\u201d he said. \u201cIn the insurance-based model, insurance companies can sometimes dictate what is done, what imaging is done, and they have to approve it. In a cash-based model, we get to do what\u2019s best for the patient at the end of the day.\u201d<\/p>\n Fisher\u2019s cost is $420 for the first hour-long visit and $210 for a 30-minute follow-up.<\/p>\n The fact that he does not take insurance, Scheid said, is part of the reason Fisher is able to practice solely osteopathic manipulative medicine.<\/p>\n \u201cThe challenge nowadays with most of the folks using insurance products is that a lot of times we can\u2019t get paid for that (osteopathic manipulative medicine) because they want a prior authorization,\u201d Scheid said. \u201cSo the fact that he\u2019ll be able to have a model where he can treat people in a way that uses multiple modalities is unique, even for osteopaths. There\u2019s just not a lot of people that are doing that in practice these days.\u201d<\/p>\n For his patients who are part of the Amish and Old Order Mennonite communities, seeing a doctor who doesn\u2019t take insurance is not a problem. While Amish pay income, property, sales and inheritance tax, they do not pay into Social Security; therefore, they don\u2019t receive Medicare benefits.<\/p>\n \u201cWith very few exceptions, Amish and Old Order Mennonite people \u2026 don\u2019t have private commercial insurance nor government insurance plans, so they are self-paying through systems that are coordinated through their respective churches,\u201d Nolt said.<\/p>\n MEASLES EDUCATION<\/p>\n With the rising cases of measles in Lancaster County, in June, Dr. Thomas Fisher started hearing misinformation among the Plain community about the disease. For example, he said, there was lot of confusion between measles and rubella, also called German measles, which are two different illnesses. Another misconception Fisher heard was that getting the vaccine right before contracting the virus makes measles worse. He also heard that staying in a dark room speeds recovery, which is not true. Finally, some members of the Plain community thought cod liver oil and vitamin A could prevent measles or decrease severity, Fisher said. However, vitamin A does not prevent measles and can be toxic, especially during pregnancy.<\/p>\n To combat this misinformation, Fisher organized a measles information session at Intercourse Fire Hall, which was attended by 25 members of the Plain community. He publicized the event through primary care providers, holistic healers, and word of mouth.<\/p>\n He does not currently have plans for another session but said he will consider it for the future.<\/p>\n Staying true to his vision<\/strong><\/p>\n In keeping with his plan to offer patients more attention than a standard practice, he sees eight to 12 patients per day, in his 2,500-square-foot practice at 127 Peters Road, New Holland.<\/p>\n Of his patient load, 80% are from the Plain community; however, he is happy to treat anyone and is accepting new patients. He currently has one part-time employee who answers the phone from her home.<\/p>\n Most of his referrals come from word of mouth, he said, or from \u201cholistic healers,\u201d who include unlicensed midwives and individuals using homeopathic remedies.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re traditional healers or craniosacral therapists or people like that who encounter complicated medical cases,\u201d he said. \u201cThat person (the healer) thinks they (the patient) requires physician evaluation.\u201d<\/p>\n Fisher\u2019s goal is to be the doctor he wishes he could have had growing up.<\/p>\n \u201cI knew that passion (to practice osteopathic manipulative medicine in the Plain community) before he started with us,\u201d Scheid said. \u201cWe\u2019re super excited that Dr. Fisher has graduated and that he\u2019ll be staying in Lancaster. Kudos to him, because when I met him about four years ago now, that was what his plan was, and that\u2019s what he\u2019s been able to accomplish.\u201d<\/p>\n \n Success!<\/strong> An email has been sent to <\/strong> with a link to confirm list signup.\n <\/p>\n \n Error!<\/strong> There was an error processing your request.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Growing up in an Amish-Mennonite family in rural Leacock Township, Dr. Thomas Fisher recognized a need for doctors…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":636858,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[275],"tags":[269096,18,20210,135,475,474,19,17,269095,101070],"class_list":["post-636857","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-healthcare","tag-amish","tag-eire","tag-fisher","tag-health","tag-health-care","tag-healthcare","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-osteopath","tag-subscriberexclusive"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/117094118140989082","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/636857","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=636857"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/636857\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/636858"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=636857"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=636857"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=636857"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}