Reputation, Family Leads Tim Coss, D.O. to Central Ohio Primary Care

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Dec. 4, 2013 - PRLog -- Family comes first for Tim Coss, D.O. That is why the 48-year-old internal medicine physician is starting over at a new practice.

Dr. Coss joins the practice of LaHue, Gramann and Boezi of Central Ohio Primary Care (www.COPCP.com) after seeing patients in Marysville for the past 15 years. He currently serves as Medical Director at Heartland of Marysville Nursing Home.

“LaHue, Gramann and Boezi attracted me due to their great reputations as doctors as well as how kind-hearted they were,” said Dr. Coss, who will begin seeing patients in January. “Their practice has a very experienced staff and committed employees who have been with the practice a long time.”

It wasn’t an easy decision for Dr. Coss to leave his practice in Marysville for Columbus. The small community feel is what attracted him and his wife, Michele to Marysville in the first place.

The Cosses knew it was important to be in Columbus so they would be in close proximity to hospitals that can care for their 12-year-old adopted son, Johnathan. His health is a high priority for the family.  Johnathan was born prematurely with a small hole in his heart.  He also has autism, cerebral palsy, a stomach condition and was recently diagnosed with epilepsy.

The move also makes it easier for the Cosses to attend more family activities. Johnathan is one of three adopted Coss children. There is also David, 13, and Jamie, 11, that keeps the family on its toes.

All three kids were adopted within two years of each other. How it all transpired was a combination of luck and fate. After trying to have children, the Cosses were content with a life that included only their beloved golden retriever.

With Dr. Coss practicing as a physician and Michele working part time in public relations, they were able to travel and do activities they enjoyed. They weren’t far removed from a pair of vacations when Dr. Coss received a call in February of 2000.

A baby boy had been delivered the previous day at O’Bleness Memorial Hospital in Athens, Ohio. The mother was open to a private adoption. The medical resident on the phone remembered that a few years earlier, when Dr. Coss was operating a clinic at O’Bleness while teaching at Ohio University, the couple had expressed a desire to adopt.

By three the next afternoon with the legal details yet to be worked out, they had returned to Dublin with a two-day-old David. By his first birthday, the Cosses knew they wanted another child.

In late January 2002, a Columbus–area physician who had learned the Cosses wanted to adopt a second child, called to tell them about a patient. She was a college student with a due date in late July. The girl and her boyfriend realized they weren’t ready to be parents. She was upfront, stating she had an attorney and was looking at the Cosses as well as other families. Michele sent an e-mail to let the college student know of the family’s interest in adopting the baby.

In the meantime, in early April, the Cosses received a call from their lawyer, asking if they were interested in adopting Johnathan, a 7-month-old boy with special needs in the Lima area. The child’s mother and relatives had tried to care for him but his health problems proved to be overwhelming for the family.

After asking a COPC physician in Marysville to evaluate the medical condition of the child, the Cosses decided the medical issues were problems they could handle. Four weeks after they learned about Johnathan, they brought him home.

During the four-week wait for Johnathan, the college student contacted Michele. She was carrying a healthy girl and had decided she wanted the Cosses to be the baby’s parents. The birth mother knew she chose the right family after the Cosses decided to adopt a child with disabilities. They wanted to be parents. Jamie was born a month early on June 29, 2002.  She was named after actress and adoption advocate, Jamie Lee Curtis.

Today, David enjoys playing most sports; this winter he will be maintaining a healthy balance of swim meets, basketball games and academics. Jamie is also active on the court, having played volleyball and tennis this past fall. She will take part in a school musical this winter.

Despite his health conditions, Johnathan enjoys playing baseball in the Miracle League of Central Ohio and participated in the state Special Olympics track meet held at the Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium on the campus of Ohio State University this past June.

“We are very blessed with all of our children,” Dr. Coss said.

Along with family, patient care is a high priority for Dr. Coss. He is known for taking the time to foster lasting relationships with his patients. Many are expected to follow him from Marysville.

“I am excited to be a part of Central Ohio Primary Care and its focus on patient care,” he said. “I chose Internal Medicine due to the relationships you create with your patients and the complexity and wide variety that you get to be involved. I believe good care is given when there is a personal relationship with the patient.  I value each relationship I am able to form with my patients.”

Dr. Coss is Board Certified by the American Osteopathic Board of Internal Medicine and is currently a member of the American College of Osteopathic Internists and American Osteopathic Association.

He received his Bachelor of Science at Muskingum College in New Concord, Ohio and earned his Doctor of Osteopathy at the Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine in Athens, Ohio. He also taught at OU’s medical school for three years and was proud to have served on the National Health Service Corp, seeing patients in an underserved area of Ohio.