American Osteopathic Association (AOA) Update – Thomas L Ely

Thomas L Ely, DO, FACOFP, FAAFP, DO, FACOFP, FAAFP

Dr. Ely is the current president of the American Osteopathic Association (AOA). He is an AOA board-certified osteopathic family physician; a Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Association of Osteopathic Examiners, and the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians. A member of the AOA since 1980, he was elected to and served on the AOA’s Board of Trustees from 2006 – 2019, and represented Tennessee as a delegate or alternate delegate in the AOA’s House of Delegates from 1998 – 2019. Dr. Ely also is past president of the Tennessee Osteopathic Medical Association and a member of the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians. He was appointed to the Tennessee Board of Osteopathic Examination (licensure board) for 9 years. Prior to attending the Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences College of Osteopathic Medicine (KCUCOM) in Kansas City, MO, Dr. Ely served as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army Medical Service Corps, which included two combat tours in Vietnam, serving as a “Dustoff” medical evacuation pilot. Following osteopathic medical school, he re-entered the military as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army Medical Corps and completed a family medicine internship and residency at DeWitt Army Community Hospital in Fort Belvoir, VA. He retired from the Army in 1988 with the rank of lieutenant colonel and went into private practice as a family physician in Clarksville, TN, and subsequently served as the Chief Medical Officer for the Gateway Medical Center in Clarksville from 2002 to 2015.