Mahaska Health Partnership Announces Retirement of Dr. Nick Messamer

1. Family Practice Physician Dr. Nick Messamer holds up his retirement cake with his nurse Ashley Perkins. A retirement party was held Dec. 30 at MHP to celebrate Dr. Messamer’s medical career with his family and his MHP family.

MAHASKA COUNTY – Family Practice Physician Dr. Nick Messamer will be hanging up his white coat January 1 after 23 years caring for patients in Mahaska County, the past four at Mahaska Health Partnership.

“Many people know I had several careers prior to graduating from the University of Iowa College of Medicine at the age of 39,” Dr. Messamer explained. “I built Morton Buildings, I was a certified welder for Johnson Machine Works, I farmed and farrowed sows and I taught Industrial Arts at Russell High School.

“My interest in medicine began after reading a biography about a family doctor practicing in rural Texas,” Dr. Messamer explained. “I was a senior in college though, bound for the family farm. However, after a few years on the farm I realized it wasn’t the career for me and my wife (Karen) encouraged me to follow my dreams.”

Dr. Messamer began his medical career in Oskaloosa in 1991 as part of the Mercy Clinic practice located on Market Street (across from the Methodist Church). “Seven years later I opened The Doctor’s Office. I couldn’t have done it without my wife’s support, she handled everything from billing to scheduling.”

In anticipation of his retirement, Dr. Messamer selflessly acted with the needs of his patients in mind and joined the Medical Staff at Mahaska Health Partnership. “I had always worked closely with MHP and had a good relationship with the providers here. I wanted my patients to have that same opportunity so they could become familiar with the medical campus. I felt this would make the transition to a new provider easier upon my retirement.”

Since Dr. Messamer’s addition to MHP in 2011; the Medical Staff has grown significantly. “We knew Dr. Messamer’s long-term plan when he came to campus. We have been actively recruiting to assist with the influx of patients that will occur as providers take on new ventures or seek retirement,” MHP CEO Jay Christensen said. “Dr. Messamer has been a wonderful servant to his patients, always putting their needs above his own, spending as much time as they need to listen, evaluate their problems and determine treatment solutions.

“He will be greatly missed by the MHP family as well as by his patients, but we wish him well in yet another chapter of his life,” Christensen said. “Dr. Messamer has been working with his patients for some time to choose a new primary care provider and we will continue recruiting to ensure we can meet the growing healthcare needs of our community for generations to come.”

Upon retiring, Dr. Messamer plans to travel, hunt, farm and garden. Although he is looking forward to more time to spend on his hobbies, he says he will miss his patients. “Retiring has turned out to be a lot harder than I realized because I have been caring for some of these people since I started my career,” Dr. Messamer said. “But I am leaving them in good hands.”

Mahaska Health Partnership, located in Oskaloosa, is a non-profit health system accredited by the Joint Commission. It is guided by its mission to provide exceptional customer service and health improvement, linking the science of medicine with the humanity of compassionate care. For more information about how Mahaska Health Partnership is making healthcare personal, call 641.672.3240 or visit www.mahaskahealth.org.