A Dillingham doctor was honored with a statewide award, recognizing more than 40 years of medical service in Alaskan communities.
Dr. Dan O’Connell was one of three recipients of the Alaska Hospital and Healthcare Association’s Paton Award this year.
The Paton Award is one of the Alaska Hospital and Healthcare Association’s annual Healthcare Champion Awards. The nonprofit trade group picks Paton recipients by length of service – doctors who have worked over 40 years in medicine in Alaska.
Earlier this month, the Kanakanak Hospital in Dillingham gathered with Dr. O’Connell to celebrate his accomplishment and watch his pre-recorded acceptance speech from the Anchorage ceremony in September.
“I'll leave you with this thought. If you only say the prayer ‘thank you’ that will be enough. So thank you,” said O’Connell to close out his speech.
At 88 years old, O’Connell retired just two years ago after 59 years in medicine.
He worked on and off at Bristol Bay Area Health for three decades and remains a fixture in the region.
Until recently, he had visited the Kanakanak Hospital daily. Now, he spends just a few mornings there each week.
Dr. Kevin Omilusik, Chief Medical Officer at the Kanakanak Hospital, met O’Connell two years ago after moving to Dillingham.
“He’s just a trail of happiness. He really is,” said Omilusik. “You walk around the hospital with him and it's like every day it's the same thing, but every day everyone's happy to see him.”
O’Connell grew up in a rural farming community in South Dakota. He says he spent his youth helping on the family farm and pheasant hunting.
He graduated high school from a one-room schoolhouse with 12 classmates. In college, he says he initially studied agriculture, before he discovered a passion for science.
In his final year of medical school, O’Connell told a classmate that he planned to join the Indian Health Service and move to Red Lake, Minnesota.
“And his response was ‘If you're going that far North, why don't you go to Alaska.’ And I said something to the effect of ‘That's a good idea,’” said O’Connell. “My life has been one lucky thing after another.”
In 1963, fresh out of medical school, O’Connell, his wife, and their three children moved to Bethel, Alaska. It was challenging, but O’Connell says he thrived in rural areas.
In the following years, his family relocated with the Indian Health Service, moving to New Mexico and numerous Alaskan villages. During his decades of practice, he performed surgeries like appendectomies and C-sections, and he estimates he delivered over 1,500 babies.
As medicine evolved, he adapted, learning from medical students and refining his approach to care.
He says over his 59-year career, he realized the importance of listening and patience.
“I would just sort of sit down and ask ‘How's your dad? How's your mom? How are the kids?’ and then I'd listen,” said O’Connell. “Most of the time their problem would just come out. Whether it was ‘Dads got a drinking problem’ or ‘I've got an ingrown toenail.’ You know it would tumble out. But there was no rush.”
O’Connell knew Dr. William Paton, the namesake of the hospital association award. They were old friends, having worked together for decades in Alaska's medical network.
Years ago, he says Paton called him to deliver the news that his son had been in a car accident. The words Paton used to deliver the news stuck with him – and he says are a big reason why he traveled to accept the award.
“Those three words- ‘you better sit down’- are the kindest words I've had spoken to me in a long long time. And that's why I went to anchorage,” said O’Connell.
Another person who traveled to Anchorage for the ceremony was Delores O’Connell, the doctor’s wife of over 60 years.
“I was just so happy. He definitely deserved it and has worked extremely hard. And being his wife I was there through all his worries,” said Delores O’Connell.
After watching O'Connell's speech, those gathered at the Kanakanak hospital share their own memories. They tell stories of how he helped deliver their babies and how he treated their sick children. Others reflect on his role as a teacher and mentor.
O’Connell is still a mentor to the staff of Kanakanak Hospital. He says he plans to continue spending much of his time in the hospital hallways, visiting with patients and staff.
