William Hobbs Jr. performed outpatient surgery at Virginia Baptist for over 30 years. He recently returned to the hospital as a surgery patient. The retired Lynchburg ophthalmologist shared his story to express gratitude for the care he received.
For beloved Lynchburg ophthalmologist William Hobbs Jr., caring about the health of his community has always been deeply personal. So has sharing gratitude.
Dr. Hobbs “learned about gratitude and stewardship of time, talents and treasure” from his family in his early years and took the lessons to heart.
A few years after moving to Lynchburg in 1975, he had a vision for how to use his time and talents to care for our community. In 1983, along with another local ophthalmologist, he founded Lynchburg Eye Physicians and Surgeons. He cared for patients there until he retired in 2007 and sold the practice to Harman Eye Center. 
During that time, Dr. Hobbs performed surgery – “mostly outpatient” – at Virginia Baptist and made a practice of giving back to his community, including to the hospital prior to the creation of Centra and the Centra Foundation. He made his first gift to Virginia Baptist in 1976.
Since then, he has made gifts through the Centra Foundation to support the creation of the Centra Alan B. Pearson Regional Cancer Center, the Dawson Patient Inn Fund and more. He recently made an unrestricted gift to the Greatest Need Fund to help Centra meet challenges, save lives, enhance care and provide high-quality care for everyone in our community, regardless of ability to pay.
The retired ophthalmologist and philanthropist has also remained active with local organizations, including volunteering to coordinate and build wheelchair-friendly ramps. Although he would not change anything, “due to frequent heavy lifting, I developed a direct hernia,” he said. When it became more bothersome, he elected to see Dr. Peter Ploch, a “great decision that I should not have put off as long as I did,” he joked.
He had elective surgery at Centra Virginia Baptist Hospital. After so many years practicing surgery there, “it was very interesting to return as a surgery patient,” he said.
“From my preoperative testing and instruction through my discharge, the level of care and concern was exceptional. Overall an excellent experience. I will recommend Dr. Ploch and the whole outpatient surgery team to anyone in need of similar services. Thank you all!”
Now Dr. Hobbs once again has his sights set on what he loves: caring for his community.
Have you or a loved one received excellent care at Centra? Saying ‘thank you’ and expressing your appreciation by sharing your personal words of gratitude can uplift your dedicated team of Caregivers, be a powerful part of the healing process, inspire generosity and impact patients.
