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CHAMBERSBURG, Pa.– Is it possible that caring for others is hereditary? It could be in the case of Ronald and Ruth Hartman of Elkton, Maryland.

The reason: A $45,000 charitable gift given to Chambersburg Hospital from the Hartmans to use for Pediatric and Maternal Child Health nursing staff education in the name of Ronald’s father and mother Dr. Owen Hartman and Marie Hartman.

Dr. Owen W. Hartman was Chambersburg Hospital’s first pediatrician.

The Dr. Owen Wister and Marie Mason Hartman Endowment will produce annual revenue to fund educational activities. Ron and Ruth Hartman will continue to fund the endowment over the next several years. 

“We wanted to honor mom and dad in their hometown,” Ron Hartman said.  “This gift is a way to give back to the hospital, which played a central role in our family life.  It will benefit generations of children to come.”

Born in 1914 in Kauffman Station, Pa., Dr. Owen Hartman was a 1935 graduate of Gettysburg College.  Dr. Hartman earned his medical degree in 1939 from Temple University Medical School. 

He served in the United States Air Force as both active service and a reservist, retiring in 1974 with the rank of lieutenant colonel.

Dr. Hartman returned to Franklin County in 1948 and established the county’s first practice dedicated solely to pediatrics in Chambersburg.   Over the next 40 years, Dr. Hartman cared for area children until his retirement in 1990.

Dr. Hartman’s wife, Marie Mason Hartman, was a 1938 graduate of Temple University Nursing School.  She and her husband spent the war years together at various medical posts including Bolling Hospital and the Pentagon, Washington D.C. and Rome Air Force Base, New York.

Sherri Stahl, Senior Vice President of Hospital Services said, “We are deeply humbled and grateful for this generous gift.  As a nurse, I know just how important it is to bring the latest in care practices to our young patients’ bedsides.”

Charitable gifts to grow the endowment are being accepted from friends, employees, physicians, family and community members who want to honor Dr. and Mrs. Owen W. Hartman’s lives of service.

For more information contact Deborah Strong at the Summit Health Development Office (717) 267-7457 or visit our website at www.summithealth.org/giving.

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Summit Health, a non-profit organization, is dedicated to building a healthier community through leading-edge medical technology, skilled physicians, caring staff, and convenient locations.  Summit Health’s comprehensive selection of services and providers includes family physicians, surgeons, specialists, diagnostic services, a women’s health center, a fitness center, two walk-in care centers, and two award-winning hospitals. For more information about Summit Health, call (717) 267-7136 or visit www.SummitHealth.org or www.facebook.com/SummitHealth.