Tamara TCM began with an idea, a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Wellness Clinic with a high standard of professional care. Serving Toledo, Sylvania, Perrysburg, Maumee, and the surrounding communities with integrity and compassion. To educate and empower others. The better you are the better I am. The better I am the better you are.
People ask me all the time: “How did you get into this? Why acupuncture?”
After years as a massage therapist here in the Toledo area, I sat in a class on 5-Element Acupuncture and knew immediately, “I’m going to do that someday.” I sold my practice, packed up my dogs and a shipping container, and went to Bastyr University in Seattle. I completed my Master’s, passed the four National Boards through the NCCAOM, studied intensively at a TCM hospital in China, and moved back home to Northwest Ohio in February 2012. My family was here. This medicine wasn’t. I started Tamara TCM in March 2012.
At first, I rented a room out of an established acupuncture clinic in Temperance, MI. It was a great start. I was there for one year before the Ohio laws changed, allowing me to practice herbal medicine in Ohio. I met Scott McBride (our resident CCT Master Teacher) in that first year of practice and we became friends. He helped organize and implement systems into the growing practice, which soon moved to Perrysburg, OH, going from one room to 2,000 square feet.
The clinic now had employees and an herbal dispensary. In fact, my mom was one of the first employees. After meeting my husband and starting our family, the clinic continued to grow with the support of skilled practitioners who stepped in during key seasons of life, including maternity leave. Yesenia DeCapua became a core part of the team, and over the years the circle has expanded with practitioners who share the same commitment to this medicine.
We were in Perrysburg for four years before moving to Uptown Maumee in June 2017. Alexander was just one year old when we arrived. Nine years later, it has been a wonderful journey. We now provide Traditional Chinese Medicine to Maumee, Toledo, Findlay, Southeast Michigan, and the surrounding cities that make up Northwest Ohio.
During the COVID years, when so many people were scared and systems felt uncertain, we kept showing up through careful in-person care, tele-health, and a steadily expanding herbal inventory so patients could still access real support. The practice grew because the need for this medicine only became clearer.
We love the community and culture here. Many people have come into the clinic, adding their energy and helping it grow. It’s tough to call it simply “our story” because so many have left their mark, patients, practitioners, and staff who have come and gone. I’m grateful and blessed to work with this amazing team of women, including Yesenia and Keri, and eternally grateful for everyone who has helped make it what it is today. Here, now, I realize what you do with an idea. You change the world.
We are beyond proud to be your best local resource for natural, Traditional Chinese Medicine. Come in and see us. We’ll make you TCM Tough!
In light, Tamara Willingham
Owner & Operator, Tamara TCM
