All In The Family

Father-Son Doctors Share Passion for Emergency Medicine

When Dr. Kam Hartung ’19 was growing up, he says his mom and dad were like superheroes to him. And, indeed his dad, Dr. Jeff Hartung ’92, has spent the last 25 years helping to save lives as an emergency room physician. Kam is now following in his father’s footsteps as a third-year resident at University Health in Kansas City.

Having the chance in high school to shadow his dad working at the hospital played an inspiring role in shaping Kam’s comparable career path.

“One day we ran into a patient walking down the hall who stopped and talked with my dad for a long time,” recalled Kam. “Afterwards, my dad told me he had treated the man for a dire medical emergency in the ER quite some time ago. From that one chance encounter, they had become friends. I thought that was pretty cool.”

Strong Simpson Roots

Jeff’s decision to begin his academic journey at Simpson was influenced by a rich history of family ties to the College. His father, John V. Hartung, served as Simpson’s vice president of Development and College Relations from 1978 to 1984. Additionally, Jeff’s siblings — Jill Hartung ’87 and J.D. Hartung ’89 — paved the way for him at Simpson, where he thrived in and out of the classroom.

“I really enjoyed the professors in the biology department at Simpson,” said Jeff. “I always felt like their doors were open. And I made a lot of lifelong friends while getting the chance to play football for four years.”

Jeff practiced medicine in Pella for more than 20 years before his 2023 transition to Iowa Specialty Hospital in northern Iowa. He says he enjoys the pace and variety of emergency medicine, as well as the flexibility it provides in working around his family’s schedules.

“I also saw lots of specialties where physicians couldn’t really put their work away when they went home,” said Jeff. “And in emergency medicine, it’s a little different that way.”

Practicing emergency medicine in rural Iowa is different than what Kam experiences in downtown Kansas City.

“There’s an astounding amount of poverty and medical need here,” said Kam. “What I really enjoy about working in emergency medicine is that there are no hoops for patients to jump through to be seen and evaluated. We see everybody from all walks of life and don’t turn anyone away.”

Inseparable Bond

Watching Kam come into his own and excel is a source of great joy for Jeff. “Kam is very motivated and driven,” said Jeff. “He works hard at whatever he chooses as his passion. I’m obviously very proud of him…Sometimes my wife gives us a hard time because we start talking shop and she has to get us re-focused on the conversation she was having with us.”

Kam calls on his dad often to compare notes and simply to lean on his wisdom and understanding.

“My dad has been a role model for me well before I knew or thought about what I was going to do in life,” said Kam. “He’s just someone that a lot of people in our community, including me, wanted to grow up to be like.”