Draft:Dr. Harvey Rosenberg Bauman

Dr. Harvey Rosenberg Bauman

Dr. Harvey Rosenberger Bauman (February 26, 1897- October 4, 1970), alongside his wife Dr. Ella Gerber-Bauman (1895-1989), was the first doctor in the General Conference of Mennonite Mission and established the Christian Hospital in Champa. Bauman and his wife served in Champa, India, for 35 years (1925-61), where he supervised the construction of infrastructure, trained and supervised workers such as compounders, nurses, and paramedics, and served as the medical superintendent at Bethesda Leper Home and the Christian Hospital. He and his wife concluded their work in India in 1961 and were thereafter named co-directors of the cancer detection department of Allentown General Hospital. In retirement, Bauman maintained his membership in the West Swamp Mennonite Church, in Quakertown PA. Suffering from a heart attack, Bauman died at age 73 at his home in Coopersburg, Pennsylvania.

Early Life and Education

Bauman was born in Congo, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, to farmer parents Samuel W. and Clara Rosenberger Bauman. Bauman grew up in a religious household, where God was said to be present. He attended Quakertown High School, where he graduated from in 1914, and began to briefly pursue studies at Perkiomen Seminary, before pursing higher education at Bluffton College in Ohio. Afterward, Bauman returned to Pennsylvania, where he attended Jefferson Medicine College and interned at Allentown General Hospital (AGH) the year following his completion. On June 11, 1924, Dr. Bauman married his wife, Ella Gerber, who he would go on to have five children with.

Mission

While in India, Bauman severed as the medical superintendent at Bethesda Leper Home and the Christian Hospital, which he and his wife established while in India. Bauman also served on the boards of other Indian hospitals, in addition to schools and churches, intermittently serving as the pastor, deacon, or Sunday school teacher. He also served as secretary and treasurer of the General Conference Mennonite Mission.

Legacy

Bauman and his wife founded Christian Hospital in Champa, India which is still open today, and credits its establishment to the Mennonite Mission. Champa Christian Hospital focuses on those who are poor and marginalized despite their race, caste, creed, or religion, in the named of Jesus Christ. Primarily, Christian Hospital serves those in North, Northeast, and Central India. Additionally, Bauman leaves behind his children who became involved in religious and missionary work. Notably his son Kenneth G. Bauman , who taught at the Union Biblical Seminary and served as Senior pastor of the First Mennonite Church of Berne, and his daughter Dr. Elizabeth Shelly, who went to medical school, received her MD, and completed missionary work in the Congo alongside her husband.