(Batesville, IN) — Margaret Mary Health has welcomed the first set of twins born at its new hospital, and their arrival comes with a connection to the organization’s history stretching back 93 years.
Fraternal twins Aria and Bella Ashcraft were born Sept. 22 to Rikki Vann and Shane Ashcraft of Rising Sun. The girls were delivered by emergency C-section by obstetrician-gynecologists Dr. Kelley Fitzpatrick and Dr. Jeff Hatcher.
Their arrival came almost exactly 93 years after another set of twins made Margaret Mary Health history.
Al Hartman and Dorothy Flaspohler were born Sept. 26, 1933, and became the first twins born at the original hospital. Hartman and Flaspohler recently celebrated their 93rd birthday.
Margaret Mary Health recently brought the two sets of twins together to mark the connection between the hospital’s past and present.
Hartman and Flaspohler have also built a sizable family legacy. Together, they have 20 children, 64 grandchildren, and more than 50 great-grandchildren.
“Generations of Care has long been part of who we are at Margaret Mary Health, and I can’t think of a more beautiful example of what those words mean,” MMH President and CEO Liz Leising said. “Bringing together the first twins born at our original hospital with the first twins born at our new hospital was an incredibly special moment. It connects our history with our future and reminds us what a privilege it is to care for generations of families in this community.”
Margaret Mary Health opened its new hospital at 1155 State Road 229 North in Batesville on Aug. 8.
The births of Aria and Bella add another milestone to the hospital’s history, nearly a century after Hartman and Flaspohler became its first set of twins.
