MILTON S. HERSHEY MEDICAL CENTER

Hospital gets $1 million gift

By Kira L. Schlechter

Angeline Stowe and her husband, John, residents of Lancaster County, said they know the importance of having a renowned hospital and trauma center in their backyard.

A year ago, their son Aiden, now 4, suffered a near-fatal skull fracture in a freak truck accident at his home. At a news conference Tuesday at Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, Angeline Stowe said the boy was thrown from the truck window and his head struck the ground after the truck unexpectedly rolled down an embankment. The vehicle was not running and the keys weren’t in the ignition.

Aiden spent 43 days at Hershey Medical Center, surviving setbacks including a major stroke and a brain infection. He’s now a healthy, happy toddler who shows no signs of his catastrophic injury.

So the announcement of a $1 million donation from The Hershey Co. to the new Penn State Children’s Hospital was especially meaningful for Stowe. The money will create The Hershey Co. Safety Center to help prevent childhood injuries such as Aiden’s.

“We need to learn to take the extra time we need to make sure our children are safe and protected,” she said.

Hershey Medical Center is building a new $207 million Children’s Hospital, which will include The Hershey Co. Safety Center.

The gift brings the Penn State Children’s Hospital campaign to $62 million of its $65 million goal. The money will go toward the construction of a five-story, freestanding hospital on the medical center’s campus.

The safety center, which will be on the first floor of the new children’s hospital, will allow the public to buy child safety products at low prices and receive free injury prevention information. Health educators will demonstrate the correct use of helmets and help parents and caregivers install child safety seats.