Paul Hetrick’s family couldn’t afford a membership to the Hummelstown Swim Club. But one quiet morning in May 1967, a few days before the pool opened for the season, the 13-year-old found himself being wheeled through the club’s empty pavilion by a family friend, Mr. Goepfert, who managed the facility.
art and philosophy of chiropractic at Palmer College of Chiropractic and, eventually, to invent the HydroWorx aquatic therapy pool used by more than 30,000 athletes and patients every day. Now, Dr. Hetrick is following Mr. Goepfert’s example
and paying it forward with a $1 million endowed gift to Daring and Driven, the largest fundraising campaign ever undertaken by a chiropractic college. Made in support of Palmer’s postgraduate Sports and Rehabilitation Residency program, the gift represents a catalytic investment in the next generations of chiropractors specializing in the field Dr. Hetrick has done so much to revolutionize. It also moves Palmer one step closer to reaching its
EARLIER THAT WEEK, the young Dr. Hetrick had hit his head on a porcelain water fountain while playing medicine ball in gym class. He came home from the emergency room with burr holes in his skull and legs that refused to move. At the water’s edge, Mr. Goepfert tipped the wheelchair forward and heaved Dr. Hetrick into the deep end. As he sank through the water, the boy gazed up at the blurry image of Mr. Goepfert waving his arms frantically. Fifty-six years later, Dr. Hetrick can laugh about
it. “No one had thought to tell him I couldn’t swim.” Mr. Goepfert remained undeterred. Not long
before, Dr. Hetrick’s father, who ran the local volunteer ambulance company, had helped Mr. Goepfert’s son during an injury, and he was determined to pay it forward. He dove in and ferried Dr. Hetrick to safety, concluding a most unconventional rehabilitation session — the first of many to come. “By the end of the summer, I had my legs underneath me,” says Dr. Hetrick. “I was able to walk again.”
Looking back, that morning stands out as a signal moment, one crucial steppingstone along the path that would lead Dr. Hetrick to study the science,
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goal of raising $25 million by September. To date, $21.4 million has been raised. “Dr. Hetrick is a Palmer alumnus who has truly dedicated his career to creating a world of unlimited health and human potential,” says Barbara Melbourne, J.D.,
vice chancellor for institutional advancement.
“His unwavering passion and ambitious vision are an inspiration, and his gift to this historic campaign will make a meaningful impact on future residents, the College itself and countless patients.” “You get back what you give away 10 times over
throughout your life,” says Dr. Hetrick. “If I can do something to help today’s students become successful, then I’m all for it.”
IT WAS PAUL FITTERER, D.C. (Main, `58), who put the young Dr. Hetrick on a plane to Davenport, Iowa. “He was a gracious man and a very successful doctor,”
Dr. Hetrick says of Dr. Fitterer, who practiced in Dr. Hetrick’s central Pennsylvania hometown. “When I told him I was looking at chiropractic colleges, he simply said, ‘You’re only going to look at Palmer. This is the best college.’ He even paid for my flight and hotel room.” At Palmer, Dr. Hetrick honed the knowledge and skills that would serve him throughout his career.
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