Jim Dale, DO, Celebrates 40-Year Anniversary

In 1983, Ronald Reagan was in the White House, a gallon of gas cost under a buck and Nintendo released a little-known video game called Mario Bros! It also saw the arrival of Jim Dale, DO, and his wife Denise (Valley Health’s director of RHC regulations) to Luray, VA. To mark his 40-year anniversary, the staff at Page Memorial Hospital threw Dr. Dale a surprise celebration that was capped off with a proclamation of recognition from Luray Mayor Jerry Dofflemyer, which read in part: “Whereas Dr. Dale dutifully served the residents of Luray for 40 years. Now therefore be it resolved that the Mayor and the Town of Luray express our sincere appreciation and gratitude for his dedication and commitment…”

Addressing the group of well-wishers, hospital Vice President Travis Clark thanked Dr. Dale for “always pushing to improve, always doing the research, always giving 100% to our patients. Thanks to you, our community is a better and healthier place!”

A 1979 graduate of the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, Dr. Dale came to Luray through the National Public Health Program, which came with a two-year service commitment. “Denise and I didn’t start out with the intention of making Luray our permanent home,” Dr. Dale recalls. “But thanks to her previous experience with opening and running successful medical offices, my practice took off and it became clear that I could be of more use in a community like Luray than in a larger, metropolitan area.”

In addition to his private practice, which is now Valley Health PMH Family & Internal Medicine, Dr. Dale served as a hospitalist at Page Memorial up until last year and is a former member of the Valley Health Board of Trustees. His impact on the health and wellbeing of his adopted community has been felt through a myriad of roles that he has had, including serving as the Page County Medical Examiner for more than three decades and a long-time basketball coach and board member at Wakefield Country Day School.

When asked what has been the most impactful advancement in medicine that he has witnessed over the years, Dr. Dale replied the increased availability of different biomedical therapies that can help improve both patient outcomes and quality of life. Using diabetes as his example, Dr. Dale recalled the laborious process to detect sugar in the urine 40 years ago. “Now, a person can tap their smart phone to a devise on their arm and know their sugar levels instantly, it’s just amazing!”

When reflecting on his four decades in medicine, Dr. Dale, who has no plans to retire anytime soon, looks back with fondness, noting that: “Our time here has been wonderful. We made the right move!”