Dr. Christopher Tulodzieski will join the Foot & Ankle Wellness Center on July 31, just nine days after the practice’s 35th anniversary in Delaware and five days after the retirement of Dr. Gene Graham.
Dr. Tulodzieski joins Dr. Jane Graebner, Dr. Drew Belpedio and Dr. Martha Anderson as the podiatrists and surgeons at FAAWC. Dr. Graham, meanwhile, retires after 37 years, including being in private practice in Columbus until joining FAAWC in 2015.
“With only four more years until my own retirement, I can’t believe how quickly these 35 years have passed,” said Dr. Graebner, who started the practice in 1982. “It gives me a great sense of gratitude and satisfaction to realize how many people have entrusted me with their foot and ankle care over the years, and now that legacy will continue with my partners. Their training and experience will ensure that our community receives the finest quality of medical care, delivered with caring and compassion.”
The public is invited to meet the new doctor – and say farewell to the retiring Dr. Graham – at FAAWC’s Summer Celebration, from 5-7 p.m. Aug. 30 at 1871 W. William St., Delaware. There will be plenty – giveaways, refreshments and entertainment – to keep attendees on their toes. Plus, those in attendance will hear Mayor Carolyn Kay Riggle’s proclamation of Delaware’s Day of Kindness and be part of an aerial giant heart photo.
Dr. Tulodzieski graduated cum laude with a doctorate from the Kent State University College of Podiatric Medicine. He then completed his Mercy Health Foot & Ankle Residency in Cleveland, where he was chief resident and developed into a skilled podiatrist and surgeon.
“I enjoy the long-term relationship with patients, variation between surgery and office visits and the ability to balance work and family,” says Dr. Tulodzieski, whose fiancée, Katie Simmons, works as a veterinary technician when she is stateside but is currently deployed overseas in the Army National Guard.
Dr. Tulodzieski’s career actually started in engineering. “I was always interested in math and science throughout high school and college,” he said. “Toward the end of my engineering education I realized that there was more that I desired in my professional career. I wanted to continue my diagnostic skills, but with the satisfaction of working with and helping people.”
The addition of Dr. Tulodzieski is just another step in the evolution of FAAWC and the tremendous health care available in the area.
“Looking back through my 35 years here, there have been major advancements in the practice of medicine, from a time when gloves were worn only for surgery and MRI machines were brought to the hospital in a trailer two days a week,” Dr. Graebner said. “Delaware has also grown during that time, and yet it has kept the small-town feel that attracted me here many years ago when I made it my home to raise my family.”
FAAWC provides big-city service in a small-town atmosphere. The practice recently was named Best Medical Facility and Best Nail Salon in the Delaware Gazette’s annual Readers’ Choice Awards. With four doctors on staff, the practice is able to offer many state-of-the-art services, such as a pain and healing laser, a Neurogenx machine for treatment of nerve conditions, a hygienic nail salon and a skin and nail laser that also treats spider veins.
“All of FAAWC’s employees are a close-knit family,” Dr. Tulodzieski says. “This team-directed approach is great for patients and employees alike. The practice also offers services that no other office supplies, setting it above the rest.”
