Greenwich Hospital Oncologist To Retire After Years Of Care

GREENWICH, CT — After 40 years of care, Dr. Dickerman Hollister Jr. is hanging up his white coat.

According to an announcement from Greenwich Hospital, Dickerman will officially retire this month after treating scores of Greenwich families over the years.

Hollister, a lifelong Greenwich resident, was born in Greenwich Hospital's former Benedict Building. When he was just 10 years old, he was inspired by the television melodrama "Ben Casey", so he decided to become a doctor. A few years later, he became the first male candy striper at Greenwich Hospital, as he counted pills in the basement pharmacy.

A graduate of Yale and the University of Virginia Medical School, Hollister completed his residency in internal medicine and fellowships in hematology and medical oncology at The New York Hospital and Memorial-Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. He returned to Greenwich in July of 1981 to open his solo practice. He was eventually joined by additional oncologists and joined the faculty of the Yale School of Medicine, serving as a Clinical Assistant Professor.

"I’ve been a ‘family oncologist,’ treating adults with all types of cancer and blood diseases. The best part has been my relationship with my patients, getting to know them personally and customizing their care to achieve the best possible outcome," said Dr. Hollister in a news release from Greenwich Hospital. "When I returned to Greenwich to start my practice, I treated my friends’ parents. As the decades passed, I treated my friends and now, I treat their children as well. While I know it is the right time to retire, I am sad to leave. This has been such a fulfilling profession, helping patients along difficult journeys, striving for cures if possible, but support and love always. I can imagine no greater calling."

Over the course of his career, Hollister has served as Greenwich Hospital’s Chief of Staff, Chairman of Oncology, and medical director of the hospital’s Hospice Program. He is past president of both the Fairfield County Medical Association and the Connecticut State Medical Society and board member of many health-related organizations, including local chapters of the American Red Cross, the Greenwich Health Association, the Leukemia Society, and the Breast Cancer Alliance.

"Greenwich Hospital is extremely grateful to Dr. Hollister for his expert treatment of our patients for 40 years,” said Greenwich Hospital President Diane Kelly in a news release. "Dr. Hollister was instrumental in developing the Oncology program at Greenwich Hospital and then growing it within the Smilow Cancer Hospital after the hospital became a part of Yale New Haven Health. His breadth and depth of knowledge in cancer treatments are astounding. He will be greatly missed, but we wish him great happiness."

While retiring from practicing medicine, Hollister will still be busy, Greenwich Hospital noted. He and his wife Frankie will be relocating to her home state of Georgia, and he will commute back to New Haven to attend Yale Divinity School. Hollister and his wife have been married for 39 years and have two grown children.