Dr. E.J. Jones said some of his patients are surprised when they find out he has not spent his whole life in Batesville. As the first OB-GYN in Batesville, he is now delivering children born to some of the first babies he delivered. Jones himself said he cannot imagine living anywhere else.
“I can live in the country and yet be six minutes away from the hospital,” he said. “I’ve started seeing [expectant] couples come in where I delivered both of them. It kind of makes me the grand-doctor in a way.”
Jones grew up in Beloit, Wisconsin, and after graduating from Beloit Memorial High School in 1973, he decided to make Arkansas his new home by attending the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. Arkansas had been a family vacation spot throughout his childhood, and he said he was excited about the move.
“My parents’ goal was to live here,” he said. “When I graduated high school, they were going to move here and I decided to go to Fayetteville. I consider myself a local now that I’ve lived here for more than 40 years.”
Jones’ father, who was an opthalmologist, opened up a practice when he and his wife moved to Batesville. Although his father was in the medical field, Jones did not initially set out to be a doctor.
“Originally I wanted to be an attorney,” he said. “I did some pre-law classes and it was not for me. My dad was an opthalmologist and I originally thought I would be an eye doctor. When I was in medical school, I did a rotation in opthalmology and found it really boring. Then, I did a rotation in OB and found it really exciting. It gives you a wide mix, and delivering babies is still a miraculous process.”
Jones went to the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock for his medical degree and completed his residency in obstetrics and gynecology at University Hospital, also in Little Rock. When he was done with his residency in 1983, he moved up to Batesville to start his own practice.
“I was the first OB here, and that got a little brutal,” he said. “One year, I did not leave the Batesville city limits at all. Overall, except for some bad hours, I have loved my profession.”
The move to Batesville was natural for Jones. He had gotten to know some doctors in Batesville during his residency, and he said it “was just like coming home” when he made the permanent move to Independence County.
Because he was the first OB-GYN in the city and has been there for more than 30 years, Jones has had a front-row seat to all of the changes Batesville has undergone in that time, especially when it comes to the medical world.
“It’s a totally different environment, in a good way,” he said. “When I came here it was a typical small town with mostly family doctors and a few specialists. Over the years — this is a trend nationwide — the family doctors have shifted away from hospital work and the specialists are in the hospital. We have several other OBs here now. That’s a benefit, having more doctors around.”
Because of Batesville’s location and the nature of the surrounding area, some of Jones’ patients travel a significant distance to see him.
“I’ve got patients coming all the way from Missouri, all the way from Marshall,” he said. “Going east of here is Jonesboro and Newport, and south of us is Searcy, so we don’t have as big a footprint in those directions.”
Now that more specialists have located in Batesville, Jones has been able to pursue several hobbies in his spare time. He said his whole family has always been invested in hobbies, and Jones often looks at the stars from his at-home observatory or plays the double bass in the Observatory Jazz Quartet.
“My parents had been musicians,” he said. “My father was in a jazz band in the 1930s. Both my mother and father played multiple instruments. They actually formed a band — we have the Observatory Jazz Quartet now, but they set it up in the ’80s as a big band with a horn section. Then it was a Dixieland band for years. When they couldn’t play anymore, I picked it up and it morphed down into four people, which is much simpler to run.”
When it comes to astronomy, Jones said it is both fascinating and humbling to look out into the night sky. He has captured images of planets and stars through his equipment, and he said he enjoys having something interesting to do without having to leave home.
“I’ve always had an interest in looking in the sky,” he said. “It’s interesting to me.”
In addition to his star-gazing and bass-playing hobbies, Jones is an amateur radio operator. He is also considering honing his writing skills to potentially write a novel and is an active member of Compass Church.
Jones’ daughter, Ann, is working toward becoming a registered nurse after recently completing her studies to become a licensed practical nurse. Jones said that, much like her father, his daughter was not initially interested in the medical field, but it is nice to be able to talk to her about her studies now that she is in that line of work.
It doesn’t take long for Jones to run into former patients when he’s out and about. People approach him at the grocery store to say hello to the doctor who delivered them, and he is even recognized when he is out enjoying his free time.
“I was hiking off Sugarloaf Mountain when a couple came up to me with their seven year old, who I delivered,” he said. “That’s a nice thing about practicing in a small town. Sharing in that event — childbearing, which is a top event in most couples’ lives — is pretty special to me.”
Staff writer Angela Spencer can be reached at (501) 244-4307 or aspencer@arkansasonline.com.