Joe Mulcahy, MD, grew up in a small rural town in western Pennsylvania as the seventh of eight children. He worked throughout summers and school vacations, and through a combination of scholarships, financial aid, work-study and off-campus employment, he was able to attend St. Vincent College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. He graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Biology. He subsequently earned his medical degree from Saint Louis University School of Medicine and completed his residency at the University of Illinois–Cook County Hospital in Chicago. His decision to pursue a career in medicine was profoundly influenced by a series of books by and about Dr. Tom Dooley and his medical work in what was then known as Indochina, as well as Elisabeth Kübler-Ross’s influential work, On Death and Dying.

After completing his residency, Mulcahy spent two years in Yokosuka, Japan, and two in Charleston, South Carolina, in the U.S. Navy. While in Charleston, he met his spouse, Anthony Young. They have been together 35 years.

Upon completion of his service obligation with the Navy, he worked in two rural hospitals in North Carolina for 16 years and moved to Anacortes in 2009, joining friends from his surgical residency, to work at Island Hospital until his full retirement in 2023.

Mulcahy is an avid gardener and has sung in various school and church choirs, currently singing in the
St. Mary’s Catholic Church choir, where he is an active member. He loves to cook and has served on numerous boards, including several medical staff committees.

Mulcahy enjoys living, working and supporting numerous service organizations in Anacortes, along with his spouse, Anthony, and their dog, LuSee.