Caring for people: A Nichols family tradition

As a child growing up in Atlanta, Texas, Dan Nichols had plenty of doctors setting the bar high for his future success.

His father, Dr. Joe Dan Nichols, Sr., not only started Ellington Memorial Hospital in 1936, but he also formed the internationally known Natural Foods Associates in 1954.

Dan’s uncle, Dr. T.K. Nichols, was a partner in the hospital that Dan eventually joined.

After graduating medical school, Dan joined the Air Force and became the family practitioner at McClellan Air Force Base in Sacramento, California for two years. His status at the base kept him from being sent to Vietnam – a surprise perk that wife Gretchen was relieved about.

In 1970 Dan joined his dad and uncle at Ellington, just two years before Atlanta Memorial Hospital was built.

He has seen a lot of administrative changes during his time: Ellington became a clinic-only in 1972; the clinic moved to its location in front of the hospital in the mid-1990s; and not so long ago Genesis Primecare bought them out.

Through change after change, Dr. Dan has been at the helm, steering his family business through the tumultuous healthcare waters.

Until last week, that is. The man who won the award for “longest time at the same job” at the Chamber of Commerce Banquet in 2021 has finally retired after a record 52 years.

“When I started we did a whole lot more than we do today - I could do surgery, or just about anything my patients needed,” he said. “Today family practitioners can’t do that.

They’ve got specialists for everything. A family practitioner nowadays just assesses a patient and sends them on to whatever specialist they need.”

While he jokingly says that “dad and uncle T.K. would have beat me to death if I hadn’t come home,” he adds how happy he was to do so.

“Actually, I’m glad I did come back. You know, I feel lucky I was born here,” he said.

“Sometimes it’s not easy to come back to your hometown to be a doctor.”

“How many times have I heard my father say, I’m the luckiest man because EVERY DAY, I get to go to a job I love,” remarked his daughter, Meg Nichols.

While he easily navigated the changes Ellington went through, changes in the way doctors do their job was a little more difficult.

In 1970 Dr. Dan was still making house calls in Atlanta and seeing his patients for every ailment – big or small.

“The biggest change, I think, is in the technology,” he said. “Now everything is done on the computer. That makes keeping up with people a lot easier, but it can be tedious, too. That and the increased government intervention that is required now.”

Under Dr. Dan’s guidance, Ellington got its first computer system when only 5% of small Texas clinics had done so.

When the new federal regulations regarding healthcare came into play, it was apparent that Ellington needed a management company to help it keep up. But the trick was finding a company accustomed to dealing with a large indigent population like Cass County has.

“With the new regulations and electronics, it was harder and harder for us to keep up,“ he said. “Christus St. Michael had bought the hospital by then, so we asked their board for advice and that’s how we ended up as Genesis-Primecare. It was a good decision, and we just keep on improving.”

For the past few years he has only been seeing patients three days a week, but he still has gone into the office five days a week to keep his paperwork current and call patients to check on them. “I still keep the same hours I always have. That hasn’t changed,” he said. “I don’t have a lot of free time, but I do like to play Freecell a lot.”

Many people have passed through the clinic halls, and he’s seen a wide variety of issues. But, he says, “the ones you tend to remember are the ones without good outcomes.”

Those of us that have lost loved ones will always remember the doctors name, face, and voice that gave us the official news of that death. It’s hard for the average layperson to remember that the doctor does that almost every day, and likewise for the doctor to remember the family doesn’t.

“You know, I have to stop and remember that the family probably has never dealt with death before,” said Dr. Dan. “When I tell them their parent or spouse might not wake up again, all they want is for me to do something to keep them alive. Sometimes we get so caught up that we end up doing more to the patient, than for the patient.”

Doctors are in a very unique situation when they have to deal with their own aging parents. Dr. Dan pronounced the death of both his parents.

“When my dad was about to die, he was real sick. He had been in the hospital with pneumonia and was back home. I had to go check on a patient at the hospital, and they called me. I busted off to go home, but he actually died before I got there,” he said. “He went like he wanted to go – peaceful, at home.”

He was with his mother when she died, also peacefully at home. “She had just gotten real old and had several episodes of pneumonia and a severe stroke. She was peaceful and just kind of went to sleep. I was lucky enough to be there with her when she did so.”

It’s those personal experiences that have given Dr. Dan a compassionate ear for the family’s wishes and have prompted him to make sure his family knows what he wants when the time comes.

“Helping the family dealing with it for the first time – that’s part of our responsibility,” he said. “I’m not scared to die. But I don’t want to suffer before I go. I’m ready.”

After a lifetime of caring for, and about, the people of Cass County, Dr. Dan doesn’t have a whole lot of plans for retirement. For a time he will be staying employed – at least part time – with Genesis Primecare as a liaison for their nursing home patients.

“We are so lucky to retain him in that capacity,” said Charlotte Mitchell, Director of Marketing for Genesis PrimeCare. “He will be great in that role.”

While back issues now prevent him from fishing and hunting like he used to, he does look forward to spending more time at his Caddo akehouse. Also high on the list is spending more time with daughter Meg Nichols, son Joe Nichols, and grandchildren: Hunter Coleman, Rebecca Coleman, Daniel Nichols and Ella Nichols.

“I can’t remember a time that Gretchen and I were able to just go somewhere and not worry about coming back at a certain time. That’s going to be different,” he said. “We have plans to go up to Mount Rushmore, but we didn’t make any plans for the way home. We’re gonna just see where we end up. It might be interesting.”