Cardiologist retires after 43 years at Hannibal Clinic

HANNIBAL, Mo. — Dr. Richard Ha, cardiologist at Hannibal Clinic, retired July 15 after 43 years of providing patient care.

In a press release, Ha said, “I thoroughly enjoyed practicing in this area. Not only have people been my patients, they are my neighbors and friends.”

After living on the east coast for five years in the mid-1970s to complete his medical residency and fellowship, Ha wanted to practice medicine in a small town. Were it not for a timely phone call from the late Dr. Edward Plowman, ophthalmologist and chairman of the recruitment committee working to bring doctors to Hannibal at the time, Ha likely would be retiring in Lynnfield, Mass.

“After I decided to move to Lynnfield, I received a call from Dr. Plowman,” Ha recalled. “He said, ‘I saw you are looking for a small town in which to practice. Hannibal is the right place for you.’”

Plowman sent Ha tickets to travel to Hannibal to see for himself.

“The first visit here, I immediately fell in love with the place,” he said.

Ha was the first cardiologist in Hannibal, and he was the only cardiologist for 10 years. With national board certifications in cardiovascular disease and internal medicine, Ha introduced technology including the pacemaker, echocardiogram and hemodynamic monitoring — the study of how blood flows through the cardiovascular system — to heart patients seeking care in Hannibal.

Ha and his wife of 47 years, Jeong, are proud that their son and daughter were educated in Hannibal’s public school system and were the first Hannibal High School graduates to go to Harvard University. Today they are physicians practicing in Arizona.

Ha and his wife have bought a retirement home in Arizona to be closer to their children.

“We are not selling our house here,” Ha said. “We will come here and visit periodically to enjoy
nature and the rural atmosphere. We enjoy it thoroughly.”