In Memoriam

Dr. Edwards Park "Ned" Schwentker from Palmyra, PA passed away on December 22. He was a POSNA member for 40 years. 

The information below was provided by Dr. Schwentker in 2022 when he was the recipient of the POSNA Humanitarian Award.  

Dr. Schwentker was Emeritus Professor of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation at the Penn State College of Medicine. He received a BS degree at Haverford College in 1963 and graduated from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in 1968. He completed residency training in orthopaedic surgery at the University of Pittsburgh in 1973 and a pediatric orthopaedic fellowship at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto in 1974. Following fellowship, he spent 2 years as a staff surgeon working at the duPont Institute. In 1976, he joined the orthopaedic and rehabilitation faculty at Penn State’s College of Medicine where he served as a pediatric orthopaedic surgeon and for a time as the Medical Director of Rehabilitation until retiring in 2008.

During the last year of his orthopaedic residency, Dr. Schwentker had the unique opportunity to spend 3 months on the orthopaedic service at the Princess Margaret Hospital in the Bahamas where he received considerable exposure to pediatric patients, sunshine, and a different culture—all giving him the desire to include global health work in his career. An opportunity to do so came in November 1989, when in response to a devastating earthquake the previous December, Project HOPE sent a team of rehabilitation professionals to set up a pediatric rehabilitation program. Dr. Schwentker joined three other pediatric orthopaedic surgeons (Drs. Denis Drummond, Bob Clark, and Mike Sussman) for a week in Armenia to assess pediatric orthopaedic support. He returned to work with Armenian surgeons for 2 weeks each in 1990 and 1991. He was hooked on global health work but wanted a location a bit easier to get to.

In 1995, under the sponsorship of Medical Group Missions, he traveled to San Pedro Sula, Honduras, where working in a small government hospital, he spent 2 weeks evaluating children and performing surgery. Over the next 12 years, he led 21 2-week pediatric orthopaedic projects. For each project, the team would evaluate up to 200 children and perform up to 20 operations. The teams always included his wife, Bunny, who served as a general helper and chief recruiter of POSNA members, at least one medical student, and frequently a Penn State orthopaedic resident. Over the years, eight other POSNA members participated including Kaye Wilkins, a previous POSNA Humanitarian Award recipient. All projects included a Honduran orthopaedic surgeon to identify patients, assist with procedures in the operating room, and provide postoperative care.

Sponsor affiliations changed from Medical Group Missions to Medical Ministry International and in 2004, to CURE International. In 2008, after Dr. Schwentker and his wife made a 2-year commitment to live and work in Honduras full-time, CURE International built a 20-bed, fully equipped hospital with living quarters above two beautiful operating rooms. It was the only full-time/year-round pediatric orthopaedic facility providing elective care for poor children in Central America.

Unfortunately, in the second year of their commitment, Bunny developed ovarian cancer and they had to return home. CURE International replaced Dr. Schwentker with other North American surgeons, but then in 2013, CURE abruptly closed the hospital. Dr. Schwentker resumed short-term missions working at the Ruth Paz Foundation Hospital, another NGO. With the onset of the COVID pandemic, trips to Honduras were put on hold.

Dr. Schwentker is survived by his sister, Ann; three children, Ann, Pam, and Mark; eight grandchildren; a great-granddaughter; and his life partner, Penny.