Dr. Ervin Stambaugh recognized in Beebe Medical Center Hall of Honor

A plaque recognizing the dedication, service and achievements of longtime Cape Region physician Dr. Ervin Stambaugh will soon be installed in Beebe Medical Center’s Hall of Honor.

Stambaugh family members gathered at the hospital June 26, where Beebe President and CEO Jeffrey Fried met them and showed them the plaque.

Stambaugh was the third fulltime physician hired by what was then Beebe Hospital in 1929. He graduated from Penn State University in 1924 and from Jefferson Medical College in 1928. He served a two-year residency at Jefferson Hospital in Philadelphia. Stambaugh was a general practioner and surgeon who specialized in urology.

He was appointed in 1929 as a U.S. Public Health Officer, a post he held for 50 years. During World War II, he often traveled to ships at sea to treat injured or sick military personnel.

Stambaugh began private practice in 1950, and he had offices in Lewes and Rehoboth Beach. He worked at Beebe until his retirement in 1981. Stambaugh died in 1988 at age 86.

Stambaugh’s daughter, Jean Stambaugh-Marsh, said her father was always on the move, traveling throughout Sussex County doing everything from delivering babies to treating patients with pneumonia.

Although he was widely known and well-respected, she said he didn’t like seeing his name in print. “He hated publicity,” Stambaugh-Marsh said.

“We’re pleased to be able to do this. Your father was such an important part of the history of Beebe Medical Center,” Fried told Stambaugh-Marsh.