“Salute Excellence”

Ag u s t aWe s t l a n d Co m m u n i t y Se r v i c e Aw a r d
David B. Nichols, M.D., Owner, President, Managing Director; White Stone Family Practice; White Stone, Virginia
Affectionately known as “Dr. Copter,” Nichols
graduated from McGill University School of
Medicine in Montreal, Canada in
1976, completing his residency in
Newport News through Virginia
Commonwealth University’s Medical
College of Virginia. He is certified
by the American Board of Family
Medicine, a member of the Virginia
Academy of Family Practice, and a
fellow of the American Academy
of Family Practice. Nichols has
been appointed Clinical Associate
Professor of Family Practice at MCV.
When Nichols was a high school
senior he took an occupational
aptitude test on which he scored
highest in aviation and medicine! At age 49, he took his
first flight in a helicopter. Eight months later he received
his helicopter pilot license at Hampton Roads Executive
Airport in Chesapeake. He has logged more than 1,000
flight hours and currently flies a fuel-injected Robinson R44
Raven II. Nichols has served as a Senior Aviation Medical
Examiner for 29 years.
Nichols first visited Tangier Island in the Chesapeake
Bay with his father while still in medical school, promising
Eu r o c o p t e r Go l d e n Ho u r Aw a r d
Chicago Fire Department, Air Sea Rescue Unit, Chicago, Illinois
The Chicago Fire Department Air Rescue Helicopter
unit was formed in 1965 at Midway Airport. Initial
training on their two Bell 47Gs was through the Bell
Helicopter Training academy. The unit provided aerial
observation and command for large scale traffic and
medical evacuation
operations, and the
rapid delivery of
medical supplies. In
1967, at Meigs Field,
the unit established a
water rescue mission
alongside Chicago
Fire Department Sea
Rescue. In 1979, the Air
and Sea Rescue units
became Chicago Fire
Department Air Sea Rescue. In 2003 Meigs Field closed
and the unit relocated to the 95th Street Heliport.
On April 18, 2008, Helicopter 6-8-1, piloted by
Lieutenant Kenneth Straman and Firefighter/EMT
Anthony Lisanti, responded to an incident of a child in a
stroller being blown into Lake Michigan by a freak gust of
wind. While the helicopter hovered above the area where
to one day return to help the isolated community. In the
fall of 1979, a few months after setting up a family practice
in White Stone, Virginia, Nichols
began flying first his own plane, and
then his helicopter to Tangier to take
care of the island’s more than 600
residents. Nichols and his colleagues
have been doing so every Thursday
and every other Monday since. A
part of the Tangier “family,” he cares
deeply about not only the physical,
but the emotional and spiritual
problems of the islanders as well.
Nichols was awarded Staff
Care’s 2006 Country Doctor of the
Year Award, for which he received
congratulations from President
George W. Bush; the Commonwealth of Virginia House of
Delegates; and Governor of Virginia, Tim Kaine. He has
been mentioned in numerous publications including USA
Today, The Washington Post, The Richmond Times Dispatch,
The Virginian-Pilot, and in the fall 2007 ROTOR magazine.
On January 19, 2007, he was ABC “News Person of the
Week.” As President Bush said in his letter to Nichols,
“Your efforts bring hope to those in need and help make
America stronger.”
the child was thought to be, rescue divers Firefighter/
EMT Brian Otto, and Firefighter/Paramedic William
Davis dropped into the lake. After approximately four
minutes the child was found at the bottom of the lake, still
strapped in to the stroller. Otto then swam some 12 feet up
to the surface, carrying
the child still in the
stroller. Unit members
immediately began
resuscitation measures,
which continued en
route to Children’s
Memorial Hospital.
Although the child had
been under water for
an amazing 15 minutes,
after four months of
intensive care he made a full recovery.
The unit defines readiness with 24 hours a day, 365 days
a year service in aircraft, and powered zodiac inflatables
fully equipped with underwater camera equipment. This
service continually advances the reputation of the Chicago
Fire Department as an innovator in many fields of rescue
and fire suppression.
Spring 2009 59