Tangier Island’s new health clinic to be dedicated
Excitement tempered by news that the island’s primary caregiver for more than 30 years has been diagnosed with terminal cancer
 |
| Architectural services for the facility were donated by William Darwin Prillaman. |
 |
| The new Tangier Island health clinic replaces a decaying clinic that’s more than 50 years past its prime. |
The people of this shrinking strip of sand in the Chesapeake Bay – Virginia’s only inhabited island that’s not reachable by bridge – say they’re stunned by the good will and donations from supporters far and wide. “We had no idea we had so many friends,” says Tangier native Inez Pruitt, who can trace her ancestry almost as far back as the island’s colonization by the British in the late 1700s. “It’s just overwhelmed them a lot. I mean people stop me in the road and it just brings them to tears.”
Pruitt is a certified physician’s assistant and the island’s highest-ranking native medical professional ever. The daughter of Tangier’s dock master, she is the protégé of Dr. David B. Nichols, a retired family physician who lives on the mainland in nearby White Stone. Pruitt had dropped out of high school before she began working for Dr. Nichols in the clinic. Over the next couple of decades, with his encouragement and her determination, she completed six years of formal medical training, all while raising a family. Best of all, she brought her skills back home.
Dr. Nichols’ love for Tangier dates back more than 30 years, when he, and occasionally other associated physicians, began flying to the island at least once a week to care for patients there. When the weather was too violent for flight, Nichols got there by boat, and risked his own safety at times by crossing in rough waters. His dedication and skill were rewarded on a national stage in 2006, when was named “Country Doctor of the Year.”
| Video courtesy of WAVY-TV 10, as seen on Wavy.com. |
That was the beginning of the Tangier Island Health Foundation, which Carter chairs. In its first full year of operation, the foundation won a $300,000 state grant, which was shepherded through Virginia’s General Assembly – without charge – by McGuireWoods Consulting of Richmond. The state grant and Dr. Nichols’ subsequent Country Doctor of the Year award gave the project the cache and credibility it needed to attract numerous other public and private grants. Articles in national and local media, including ABC News, National Public Radio, the Washington Post, Parade Magazine, and AOPA (Aircraft Owners & Pilots Association) inspired private donations from all over the country.
Dr. Nichols has garnered national attention through numerous publications and media outlets for his work on Tangier Island.
In 2009, AOPA (Aircraft Owners & Pilots Association) recruited him for their “General Aviation Serves America” campaign, which promotes the support of small airports and general aviation by exposing individuals who serve the public through their use of private aircraft. The AOPA article, “Dr. Coptr,” was accompanied by a short video following Dr. Nichols on a visit to the island.
To read the AOPA article and watch the video, just click here.
With its single schoolhouse, picket fences, and bicycles and golf carts as the main modes of transportation, life on Tangier seems a throwback to simpler times. The enduring spirit of its people is often cited as a big part of Tangier’s charm.
The old clinic, despite its disrepair, never provoked much grumbling, because Tangierians aren’t the type to complain, Pruitt says. This isolated waterman’s community has weathered every crisis that nature and fate have thrown their way for hundreds of years. Townspeople weren’t about to find fault with the aged medical clinic that’s the closest thing to a hospital they’ve ever had.
“We’ve always been very grateful for what we had,” Pruitt says. “And we’re ecstatic for what we’re about to have.”
By month’s end, they’ll be using a spacious, well-designed and well-equipped facility that’s architecturally at home with the island’s traditional buildings. New equipment includes digital x-ray, electronic medical records, a sophisticated treadmill for cardiac stress tests, and improved diagnostic tools that will prevent townspeople from having to leave the island for endoscopy procedures.
The excitement over the new clinic has been tempered in recent weeks by concern for Dr. Nichols, who was diagnosed last month with metastatic cancer that began as ocular melanoma six years ago. Though his doctors say he has about four to six months to live, Nichols has remained stoic. He says he is grateful for an abundant life spent among good people.
Last week, as he was returning from Tangier with his son Davy, who’s been piloting him to the island since his diagnosis, Dr. Nichols says he was feeling a little down. He told his son he wished he could see everything through on Tangier. “Davy replied ‘Dad, look at it this way. You’re going out with a bang,’” Nichols says with a laugh. “And it’s true, I’m so fortunate in so many ways.”
“I feel blessed to be a part of Tangier,” he adds. “They are family to me.”
