Leading by Example A father and business owner with a world class passion for helping others R. Rob Brown is President and Founder of World Class Vacations, but more importantly father of three talented and compassionate children. When he moved to Bucks County in 1992 with his young family, Rob instantly became involved in charitable initiatives. He was interested in making a difference in the community and St. Mary Medical Center was a natural fit. Rob feels St. Mary Medical Center is the hub of the community, since it’s an institution that serves everyone. Rather than looking at St. Mary from the outside he decided to get involved from the inside to assist in making St. Mary one of the top hospitals in the country. At various events, Rob heard from the medical staff about the advanced patient care and services they provided. The passion and commitment was contagious and affirmed this was the right place for him to get involved. Through philanthropy, he contributes in bringing world class state-of-the-art health care to Bucks County. He is only one person, but hopefully his example can set the stage for other people to become engaged and active at St. Mary Medical Center. Through his association as an Ambassador Circle member, he has had the opportunity to get to know physicians, nurses, and senior staff at St. Mary and hear their stories of the impact philanthropy has on direct patient care. Whether it is through advanced technology, state- of-the-art equipment or updated facilities, he feels his contribution combined with other like-minded community members impacts patient care. “I have come full...
Overcoming adversity and “Paying it Forward” Growing up in Northeast Philadelphia, Penny Benz was raised with a strong work ethic and sense of self-reliance. Throughout her working career she had always been employed in spite of lay-offs and mergers around her. Then the “Great Recession” hit, and she lost her job. Even with her wide network of industry contacts, Penny was unemployed for three years, and during that three-year period Penny became very ill while taking care of her 94 year-old mother. When her health insurance ran out in January of 2010, Penny tried to purchase other insurance, but was rejected by two carriers because she was taking medication and was considered to have a pre-existing condition. Penny was distraught. She applied for PA Fair Care, a program that went into effect in 2010 which admits people with pre-existing conditions. She was accepted in August with coverage starting in September. However, Penny had been experiencing trouble swallowing and breathing as well as a sore throat. She went to her doctor who treated her with medication, but the infections kept returning. She was unable to sleep or eat properly because she felt like she was choking and couldn’t breathe. Finally, in July 2010, the pain became too intense, and after going to a Mini Clinic, Penny went to the St. Mary Medical Center Emergency Room. “It was the best decision I made during this entire ordeal. My mother had a knee replacement there in 2004 and we were so pleased with the care she received I knew St. Mary was the place to go.” She explained her circumstances to...
A Burning Passion for Helping Others If you connect the dots starting from one family’s introduction to St. Mary Medical Center, you will find a trail of advocates supporting the hospital, to an outpouring of generosity displayed at the recent SMMC Gala held in May 2015. The family is the Charlton family, including Chuck Sr., his two sons Michael and Chuck Jr, owners of Blue Flame Propane Gas Service and Kenderdine’s Heating Oil Company. Chuck Sr., Michael and Chuck Jr. began their commitment to SMMC in 2004, and once that decision was made, they were all in as a family unit. They are annual sponsors of the Gala, and the St. Mary Cyclefest, co-chaired by Charlene Schwartz for many years. This year they were not only John Wayne sponsors for Dessert at the Gala but also raised their paddle for the new bottle warmers for the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. “My family has very close ties with Howard and Charlene Schwartz of Newtown,” explained Michael. “They are business as well as personal associates, and were the catalyst for getting us involved with the hospital.”Howard pointed out that the family’s roots and businesses are in Bucks County. The senior Charltons were raised in Bristol while brothers Michael and Chuck grew up in Bensalem. Both Howard and Charlene emphasized the distinguished record that SMMC was achieving as a community hospital, providing the latest state-of-the art technology and equipment to be used by physicians recognized as leaders in their respective specialties. Their arguments that St. Mary needed to be the top hospital in the community made perfect sense to Chuck Sr., who...
Sparks Ignite Giving for Bucks County Native Clomans foster community growth and economic development In 1975 Jim Cloman, his two sons and two partners started a steel fabrication company in Tullytown PA. In a 3500 square foot warehouse, a dream was started to own and operate a community based business. But life has a funny way of unexpectedly changing course. Less than two years into the business, Mr. Cloman bought out his two partners, suffered a heart attack, their biggest client declared bankruptcy, and one of his sons moved to Wyoming. That left 19 year old Kyle Cloman with some serious decisions to make. His accountant and friends told him to file for bankruptcy and walk away. Instead Kyle struck a deal with creditors and worked off the debt. In eight months the debt was paid and Kyle owned Waste Gas Fabricating free and clear. He was now ready to rebuild his family’s business in the community where he grew up. But first he focused on a different kind of partnership. Kyle and Ruthann married in 1982 had two girls and began building their life together and nurturing the fledging company into a local economic engine. The Cloman’s made a conscious decision to stay in Bucks County. They were approached to sell or move, but recognized an opportunity to provide good paying jobs in area where they grew up to allow extended families to stay intact. Holding their ground they put family, community, and local economic viability first. Now 35 years later they have 90 employees, working in a 75,000 square foot facility. Looking towards the future, Waste Gas...
A twenty-five year love affair with St. Mary—still going strong Len and Marilyn Franckowiak are loving and living retired life. They have lived in Bucks County long enough to witness St. Mary sprouting from a farm field and growing into a wonderful medical center. “It is comforting to know that our medical needs can be addressed within a short ride, and sophisticated emergency care is available at the end of an ambulance ride.” “We, our children, and grandchildren have experienced very good care through the generations. There are so many reasons why we donate, encourage others to donate and volunteer our services.” Marilyn was first encouraged to volunteer 25 years ago by Sr. Hildegarde Grogan, who, at the time was Vice-President of Patient Services. Sr. Hildegarde needed someone to sift through tons of data and prepare charts—and at that time, it was with a pencil, ruler, and graph paper! Soon Marilyn was named a community representative to Ethics Committee on which she served for 15 years. Sister Hildegarde was aware that Marilyn’s first career was in nursing, and she put her to work researching and writing the nursing standards for the new Cancer Center. When Sister left, Marilyn continued to work for the next five Vice Presidents. For the past year, Marilyn has worked for the Trauma Prevention Coordinator. Another area of opportunity for her service was the Healing Environment program. Marilyn makes afghans and hats for cancer patients, has delivered them to and visited with patients, and even designed two items to aid patients during their healing. Marilyn absolutely cherishes every minute of her more than 6500 hours...
The art of good intentions Art and science have always been considered two sides of the same coin. Keith Haldeman is an example of using both aptitudes for professional and personal enrichment. His profession is in science but his passion is in the arts, and he has managed to combine the two in a way that benefits SMMC. As a Physician’s Assistant in the Operating Room for the past 32 years, Keith uses his critical thinking skills to assist numerous surgeons in cardiac, orthopedic, general and Robotic procedures. At home in his studio he uses his creative skills to create beautiful glass bowls, ornaments, and vases. In college Keith wanted to pursue his interest in fine arts but was unable to take the classes he wanted without declaring that as a major. So he double majored in biology and fine arts at Rutgers, where he received his Bachelor of Science. Keith realized supporting himself would be challenging in the art field so after graduation he followed his other interest, medicine and went to school to get his Physician Assistant degree. In 1983 Keith became the first Physician Assistant at St. Mary Medical Center, but his passion for art never wavered. He experimented with pottery but wanted more, so he decided 10 years ago to enroll in the Bucks County Community College Fine Arts program. There, he learned the technique of glass blowing and fell in love with the art form. For the past decade Keith has used the school’s facilities to mold and manipulate molten glass to create works of art and function. He works with other students and...
