Hartman shows that same pride of place when he talks about Homewood where he and his wife Erika live with their children, Grant and Helen. “Homewood is awesome,” he says. “It’s young, energetic and has the most walkable neighborhood in Alabama. On our block, we have 23 kids.”
As Homewood’s first board-certified solo dermatologist, he enjoys participating in the We Love Homewood Day, as well as the Kick’n Chick’n Wing Fest fundraiser for Magic Moments held each year in the city.
A childhood role model led Hartman to a career in dermatology. “I worked in his office as a teenager,” he says. “He had a vision of how he wanted his practice to be. I appreciated dermatology because I wanted to grow with a patient and see issues throughout the patient’s life. And I wanted to do procedures as well as medicine. Dermatology provided the opportunity for both.”
He received his undergraduate degree in psychology from Emory University in 1997. (Yes, he says, understanding psychology does help in his practice.) That was followed by a doctorate of medicine in 2001 from MeHarry Medical College in Nashville, where he met Erika, now an orthodontics specialist with Birmingham Orthodontics. In 2003, he completed an internship in Internal Medicine at Tulane University Medical Center, then a residency in Dermatology at the University of Alabama School of Medicine. Hartman is certified by the American Board of Dermatology and is a fellow of the American Academy of Dermatology. He has a special interest in ethnic hair and skin disorders.
From 2007 to 2009, he was in practice at Southview Medical Group, PC on St. Vincent’s campus in Birmingham. “I learned so much there, especially the business side,” he says.
In 2009, Hartman became the founder and medical director at Skin Wellness Center of Alabama, the first private practice dermatology center in Homewood. He shares a stone-entranced building at 2908 Central Avenue near Homewood Central Park with Joseph Larussa, MD, allergist and immunologist.
“I knew how I wanted it to run, how it would look, and how the patients would be treated,” he says of his practice, which offers medical, surgical and cosmetic dermatology. “I didn’t want the office to scream, ‘doctor’s office.’ I wanted it to be comfortable, almost like a spa environment.” He chose colors of slate blue, sage green and gold with chrome and leather seating. Wi-Fi service and eclectic music win compliments from patients. “People always want to know what music station we’re playing,” he says. “All the music is from my personal collection and ranges from big band to jazz to light rock to show tunes.”
Although the practice is Homewood-centric, patients come from all over Alabama as well as Mississippi and Georgia, as Hartman has gained a reputation for quality work with high-profile people, including business figures, TV personalities, performers and athletes. “We go out of our way to accommodate patients,” he says. That includes meeting after hours, offering private entrances, and transportation to a place of recovery.
After hours, Hartman dedicates himself to several organizations and charities. “I am a member of the professional fraternity Sigma Pi Phi,” he says. The organization is the first Greek-letter fraternity founded by African-American men with a focus on social action. Hartman is also part of a mentoring program where members guide their charges through social graces, financial and personal responsibility, and other areas. “We look at kids who are excelling and try to provide them with resources to help them with their motivation,” he says.
In addition, Hartman is president of the professional board of the Minority Health and Health Disparities Research Center at UAB. The members contribute to minority-focused health care delivery, research and community outreach. One of these projects is the Healthy Happy Kids program, aimed at good nutrition and physical activity to prevent obesity in underserved children.
For Hartman, that means being a good role model himself. “I’m really into exercise and eating right,” he says.
Surely that doesn’t negate indulging in the occasional snowball when he visits hometown New Orleans.
