Draft:Dr. Harvey Rosenberger Bauman

Dr. Harvey Rosenberger Bauman

Dr. Harvey Rosenberger Bauman (February 26, 1897- October 4, 1970), was the first doctor in the General Conference of Mennonite Mission and established Christian Hospital in Champa, India, alongside his wife Dr. Ella Gerber-Bauman (1895-1989). Bauman and his wife served in Champa 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 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/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, graduating in 1919. Afterward, Bauman returned to Pennsylvania, where he attended Jefferson Medicine College, graduating in 1923, and interned at Allentown General Hospital (AGH) the year following his completion (1924). On June 11, 1924, Dr. Bauman married his wife, Dr. Ella Gerber, who he would go on to have five children with— Albert Bauman, RN Clara Stauffer, Harvella Stutzman, Dr. Elizabeth Shelly, and Kenneth G. Bauman. While Dr. Gerber was completing her internship at AGH, in 1925, Bauman served as a doctor for a contracting company.

Mission

While in India, Bauman severed as the medical superintendent at Bethesda Leper Home and Christian Hospital, which he and his wife established. 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. Primarily, serving those in North, Northeast, and Central India, Christian Hospital focuses on patients who are poor and marginalized despite their race, caste, creed, or religion, in the name of Jesus Christ.