A Family Physician Who Grew Up in Rural Kansas — and Still Practices There.
Dr. Cooper Nickel grew up in Lindsborg, Kansas, the son of a family physician, where he saw firsthand what accessible, high-quality care does for a small community. He earned his MD at the University of Kansas School of Medicine, trained at Smoky Hill Family Medicine in Salina, and is board certified in Family Medicine — and he has practiced in critical-access hospitals, emergency departments, and rural clinics across the state ever since.
He began moonlighting in his second year of residency. It sharpened him clinically, and it exposed the gaps: what to expect walking into an unfamiliar facility, how taxes work as an independent contractor, who to call for advice. Nobody was answering those questions clearly. He founded Limestone Healthcare in 2022 to answer them — better rates, real mentorship, and a physician on the other end of the phone.
That’s also why Limestone opens locum shifts to residents and early-career physicians: the same work that shaped his career, offered earlier and with support behind it. Beyond staffing, Dr. Nickel is a certified professional coder and biller, so a facility can raise a coverage gap and a reimbursement question in the same call — or use him as a sounding board on a contract or a career decision.
Successful Recruitment Connections
Proven recruiting success through building lasting connections—supporting over 4 hospitals and guiding more than 20 medical students and residents into the right opportunities
Innovative Staffing Solutions
Forward-thinking staffing solutions that uniquely leverage medical residents and early career physicians to enhance care and build the future healthcare workforce.
Physician-Led
Your dedicated rural Physician–specialist, blending frontline care with expertise in billing, coding, and policy, backed by trusted connections across Kansas.
Guided by Integrity, Excellence, and Community Focus
Commitment to Ethical Practices and Patient-Centered Care
