As the new medical director of the Toledo-Lucas County Health Department, Dr. Lawrence Ellis Monger, Jr., has pledged to prioritize the area’s fight against chronic disease, including obesity, diabetes, and hypertension.
His goal aligns with the health department’s 2025-2027 strategic health plan to combat the growing numbers of people with chronic diseases.
In Ohio, 13.5 percent of residents have three or more chronic diseases, which include arthritis, asthma, chronic kidney disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cardiovascular disease, cancer, depression, or diabetes, according to America’s Health Rankings. In 2023, Lucas County’s rate of obesity, which is linked to many chronic diseases, was 43 percent. That was higher than the rate of 38 percent in 2020.
“The Toledo-Lucas County Health Department is committed to being a catalyst for positive change in our community,” said Shannon Jones, deputy health commissioner. “This strategic plan is a reflection of our dedication to addressing health disparities and improving the well-being of all residents.”
Dr. Monger, 60, whose role is to support the county’s health commissioner and board of health with medical opinions to help guide decisions, says he is on board with the plan and would like to reverse negative trends.
“I would love to see us reduce some of these rates of chronic diseases on a county level,” said Dr. Monger, who returned to Toledo with his wife, Mary, and their two children.
When Ohioans hunker down for several months each winter, they are opening the door to weight gains they cannot lose during the warmer months of the year.
“People hibernate for a few months in the winter,” said Dr. Monger, noting the season when a body’s weight sees a spike. “We don’t get it all off. Then we’re on an upward spiral.”
Dr. Monger, who has served patients at the University of Toledo Medical Center, Van Wert Medical Center, and Wood County Hospital, said he would like to connect more people with a primary care provider rather than relying on emergency rooms or urgent care centers.
“It is a matter of getting people into primary care doctors,” said Dr. Monger, adding such action also would continue improving childhood immunization rates, which stand at 76.4 percent in Lucas County. “That is a big topic of focus.”
And primary care doctors can direct patients to the specialty services they might need, such as a dietitian or a cardiologist.
“You have to access that provider to see a nutritionist,” said Dr. Monger, who is originally from Indianapolis and started his duties with the health department last week. “I want to help people not go down the worst-case scenarios path.”
Board certified through the American Board of Internal Medicine, Dr. Monger earned his undergraduate degree from Carleton College in Minnesota and his medical degree from Case Western Reserve School of Medicine in Cleveland. His residency training was at the University of Minnesota, and he served as a general medical officer in the U.S. Army for five years, with assignments in Washington; Bamberg, Germany; and Fort Lee, Va. He most recently was the medical director at Brightview Addiction Treatment Center.
Other aspects of the health department’s strategic plan include family well-being, including maternal and infant health; healthy homes and spaces, including lead poisoning prevention, air quality, and safe housing; as well as nutrition. A final point is infrastructure improvement as the department assesses any new facility locations.
“This is a different career path for me to spur some different brain cells,” Dr. Monger said.
First Published March 17, 2025, 11:43 a.m.
