“She said, ‘Dr. Cole, I want to give you a big hug. You delivered all five of my kids,” Cole recalled.

“That makes you feel good to look back on your medical career and have people appreciate that kind of thing,” he said.

The comment was made during a time when Cole returned to working at UnityPoint Health — Fort Dodge Second Avenue North Family Medicine.

“They said a lot of people missed me,” said Cole, who has announced that he is retiring from the hospital at the end of January.

Cole started his medical career in the early 1970s, working alongside Dr. John Kelly, Dr. John Birkett and eventually Dr. Alan Nguyen.

The relationship between a doctor and patient was much different at that time. The way in which patients were diagnosed and treated was different, too.

“It was much more simplified than it is now,” Cole said. “Everything was done on paper. Since that time they have gotten more complicated with computers and that type of thing. We didn’t have ultrasound. We had X-ray, but we didn’t have ultrasound or MRI. You had to look at the patient and examine them without ordering a bunch of lab tests. Although those things are great, I think the tendency is to order a bunch of tests instead of looking at the patient to see what’s going on.”

Even so, Cole said he’s grateful for the medical advancements.

“I wouldn’t want to practice without the new improvements that have made medicine easier to practice,” Cole said.

-Submitted photo
Dr. Dan Cole receives a Heroes in Healthcare award about 15 years ago.

In many cases throughout Cole’s career, he cared for entire families. Sometimes that meant caring for someone when they were born and leading up to their death.

“Original family medicine, you delivered the baby, you took care of the baby growing up,” he said. “You took care of everyone growing up. It was seamless. One doctor took care of someone their entire lifetime. You don’t have very many family medicine doctors taking care of newborn babies. I miss the old family doctor approach to taking care of families.

“In the ’70s, it was a lifetime experience. You took care of them from birth to death. You would see them all. It was almost being part of their family to be part of the various calamities throughout their lives and see them through it. We have seen a lot of sad things. I was glad to be able to help families get through those times.”

As the years went by, specialists began to emerge.

“When I first started we made house calls, did surgery, orthopedics,” Cole said. “Not belittling how it is now, but now if you have a surgery, you see a surgeon.”

-Submitted photo
Dr. Dan Cole gives a thumbs up during a ceremony celebrating the opening of the new emergency room in 2016.

Cole was born in Kearney, Nebraska. His family moved to Fort Dodge in 1952 when Cole was 6-years-old. His father operated the theater business in the city, including places like the Rialto, Dodge, Strand and the Iowa Theatre. Cole is a St. Edmond Catholic School graduate.

He graduated from Creighton University School of Medicine in 1971.

“I liked science and I liked dealing with people, so I thought medicine was a good combination,” Cole said. “Our family doctor was Dr. (John) Kelly, who I ended up in practice with in 1972.”

Cole worked with Kelly for 22 years. Then, he directed the emergency department for about 20 years. Since then, Cole has been in family medicine.

“I’ve enjoyed doing everything and being able to watch the whole pendulum swing,” Cole said. “New ideas come in. It’s been fun to watch it evolve.”

-Submitted photo Dr. Dan Cole readies to cut the ribbon during a ceremony celebrating the opening of the new emergency room at that time in the spring of 2016.

He’s learned that patients deserve the benefit of the doubt.

“We have a lot of patients who are thought to be drug seeking or frequent flyers,” Cole said. “My approach to that whole thing is why do they keep bothering us? What’s their underlying problem? I always try to look and see what are we missing. When I looked for something we were missing as opposed to why they were frequent visitors, a lot of times it was something we hadn’t found. I always give people the benefit of the doubt and let them explain to me what’s going on.”

—

Serving as Webster County medical examiner is another key position Cole has held for his entire 49-year career.

“I was the new guy in town and the first meeting I went to, they said, ‘Cole you’re the medical examiner.’

Since that day, Cole estimates he’s handled about 100 cases a year.

“It’s different than anything else,” Cole said. “You have to be able to look for suspicious things. You can’t be sidetracked by some comment that someone said on the way in. You have to have an open mind. Same in medicine and as a medical examiner — you start with a blank slate. After you get all your findings, you can make a determination. You try not to be influenced by anybody who will try to influence you when you’re doing those jobs.”

Testifying in court has been an interesting aspect to the medical examiner role, Cole said.

“I used to do a lot of testifying in court,” Cole said. “We had a lot of cases that ended up in court. The state medical examiner’s office does most of the testifying now.”

The top two traits Cole mentioned for being a good medical examiner are, “being knowledgeable and keeping an open mind.”

Whether as a medical examiner or working in the emergency room, Cole’s hours have had to be flexible. He credits his family for their love and acceptance when he was called to duty.

“Family support has been unbelievable,” he said. “When I’ve been gone or getting calls in the middle of supper. My wife (Sheila) works with me and does really well talking to families. We co-donated a room at the Hospice house. My family deserves as much credit as I do.”

Staci Olson, a registered nurse who now serves as nurse manager in emergency services at UnityPoint Health — Fort Dodge, said she would not be the nurse she is today without Cole’s teachings and support.

She first met Cole in 1994 when she was a brand-new nurse in the emergency department.

Olson describes Cole as one of the most kind, compassionate and caring physicians she’s ever met.

“At the time he was the medical director and I would occasionally work with him,” she said. “In 1996 in addition to my work in the ED, I started to work with Dr. Cole in his office at Kelly, Cole, and Birkett, now known as Family Medicine — Second Avenue North. I was his nurse and worked every day with him. During this time, Dr. Cole also introduced or inducted me into forensics and his role as Webster County Medical Examiner. I will never forget my first case with him and from that time I was hooked. With his encouragement and support I became the first scene investigator /medical examiner investigator for Webster County.”

Olson said she has remained close with Cole for the past 25-plus years.

“His knowledge of medicine is simply amazing, and he remembers just about everything,” Olson said. “His easy going and common-sense personality makes working with him easy and enjoyable. He finds the good in most situations and if not, he is a comfort and support person.”

Cole met the hospital’s current chief operating officer when he was a child at Medical Arts Family Medicine Clinic.

“Little did I know at that time that I would have the pleasure to serve with him at the same organization for the majority of both of our careers,” Troy Martens said.

Martens admires Cole’s leadership.

“Dr. Cole had a significantly positive influence in both my career in administration as well as my volunteer EMS service to the community,” Martens said. “Dr. Cole’s passion for emergency medicine and EMS services helped me appreciate the importance of these services to the community and instilled in me the interest and desire to give back to the community as an EMT volunteer. When serving in administration, I was inspired by Dr. Cole’s servant leadership by his physician leadership, well-earned respect from his colleagues, and willingness to volunteer his time serving on committees.”

Martens added, “I am honored to have worked with him for so many years.”

During his career as a physician, Cole found tumors and diagnosed rare diseases.

“I’ve been amazed over the years at different things Fort Dodge and Webster County has had,” he said. “Having trained in Omaha, I saw things here I didn’t see there — rare tumors and things. I used to have a physician who said you won’t find it if you don’t look for it and that’s true.”

Although sometimes, Cole detected a rare tumor or a form of cancer without really looking for it.

“I found some leukemia and different types of cancer in patients over the years that was a surprise,” he said. “The most surprising thing is finding tumors on people when you are doing something unrelated and you inadvertently find a tumor. You scan their abdomen and you find a kidney cancer. You accidentally found it and probably saved them by finding it. It’s no credit to me as an individual or any other doctor, it’s just dumb luck.”

While working in the emergency department, Cole helped to develop the hospice program.

Cole was in charge of that program for about 15 years.

“I’ve dealt a lot with families and patients and death,” Cole said. “That takes a special kind of personality to be able to do that and talk with families and talk about death. Hospice practice is very rewarding.”

Cole has appreciated the opportunities to be there at the end of someone’s life.

“I have seen people die well,” Cole said. “I have been in the ER and hospice room with someone who is dying, holding hands saying prayers. It’s a really rewarding way to watch someone pass on. You can’t get out of this life without dying. There’s good ways and bad ways to go. You appreciate life more when you appreciate death more, I think.”

Although Cole is retiring from the hospital, he will continue his role as medical examiner. He also plans to continue teaching at the hospital.

His last day at UnityPoint is Jan. 31.

As he reflects on his career, Cole just hopes he made someone’s life better.

“I hope I made a difference,” he said as his voice cracked momentarily. “I hope I made a difference in somebody’s life.”

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