Like the Pallottine Missionary Sisters who founded St. Mary's Medical Center, Hans W. Dransfeld, M.D. immigrated to Huntington, WV from his native Germany and, over decades of time, made a broad and lasting impact on the delivery of health care in our area.

Born in Hagen, Germany on April 25, 1925, Hans graduated from Philipps University in Marburg, Germany in 1950. A friend had a relative who was a member of the Pallottine Order and it was that connection that brought Dr. Dransfeld to St. Mary's as an intern in 1953. After fine tuning his English through the tutoring of the Sisters, Dr. Dransfeld completed his radiology residency at the Washington Hospital Center in Washington, D.C. before returning to Huntington permanently in 1958.

Upon becoming Chief of Radiology in 1964, one of his first initiatives was the formation of the

St. Mary's School of Radiologic Technology. Since its founding, the school has trained more than 600 radiographers.

During the decades that followed, Dr. Dransfeld's vision was for St. Mary's to be the first in the area to have the latest innovations in radiology. Technology initially brought to Huntington by Dr. Dransfeld included CT (computed tomography), MRI (magnetic resonance imaging), radiation therapy, ultrasound and mammography.

Dr. Dransfeld served as Chief of Radiology until his retirement in 1996 and passed away in 2006. Hans is fondly remembered by those who knew him best for his soft heart, passionate resolve and his mentoring of young radiologists and technologists. The results of Dr. Dransfeld's boldness and visionary thinking are evident on St. Mary's campus and continue to positively impact its patients to this day.

St. Mary's Medical Center is proud to induct Dr. Hans W. Dransfeld into our Wall of Fame.