As a family man and familiar face in Bryan College Station, in part due to his informative press conferences on the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Seth Sullivan, infectious disease clinician at Baylor Scott & White and alternate health authority for Brazos County Health District, exemplifies the Aggie core value of selfless service without being an Aggie himself. Dr. Sullivan shows his selflessness through his commitment to forming long-lasting relationships at work and in his personal life.
The puzzle-like problem solving that comes with working in the infectious disease field along with his love for science were factors in bringing him into the field, Sullivan says. However, the relationships with his colleagues, patients, and most importantly, his wife and five kids, are what affect him the most and fuel his love for his job.
“My passions lie in the relationships I am in,” Sullivan says. “At home, my relationships are with my little people and my wife. While at work, it’s with bigger people.”
Sullivan first recognized the chance to help others through medicine as a junior in high school when he went on a medical mission trip to Haiti. He recalls a mentor who was on the trip, Dr. Kemode, as being instrumental in showing him the impact of medicine.
“I got to see how through science, there was this pathway to engage with and help people,” Sullivan says. “Getting to help in Haiti, a country where they have so little yet still have so much joy, spirit, and generosity, was inspiring to see as a young man.”
Sullivan’s ed
ucational background includes completing a program that allowed him to obtain his undergraduate and medical degrees in six years at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, a four-year service in the Navy as a flight surgeon in Japan and a year serving in San Diego, as well as doing his residency and fellowship in Rochester, Minnesota. Despite all of his academic success, Sullivan stands by his belief that the relationships are what counts.
“The accolades of degrees, getting into great programs, and getting good grades are all short-lived to the long-lasting and deep relationships I’ve gotten from patients,” Sullivan says. “They have taught me so much through their perseverance. Same for my colleagues who I work alongside to serve a common mission. Through service, I’ve found the longest-lasting joy.”
His relationship with his wife of almost 15 years, Allison, works well with Sullivan’s job as the alternate health authority. Through this position, Sullivan has conducted press conferences with KBTX about the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Allison has been very aware of the community needs and is more active than I am on social media,” Sullivan says. “She has a good eye for what people are wanting and needing. She’s a great editor for me, and after press conferences, especially early on, I would ask her, ‘Hey, what are folks needing to know; what are the misconceptions?’”
Sullivan explains his objectives for the press conferences have been to be transparent, show unity, and to explain the pandemic in simple terms.
“In medical school, I found that the best way for me to get through the material was to simplify it for myself,” Sullivan says. “Make it simple to become simple. Truth is a simple thing, and it’s what the team and I try to bring to the press conferences.”
The local official and community responses to the pandemic are something to be proud of, Sullivan says. The generosity of elected officials, Texas A&M University, media partners, colleagues, and more have been incredible, he explains.
“We have elected officials here who really care and have been engaged and interested in taking COVID-19 seriously,” Sullivan says. “I haven’t had to convince anyone to take it seriously. We have a well-informed community which makes it easier for my colleagues to be able to roll up their sleeves and just do their job.
Staying healthy amidst a global pandemic is a question at the front of many people’s minds. Dr. Sullivan says it is important to get a flu shot this year, especially since it remains a mystery how the flu and COVID-19 will react together. He also stressed the importance of continued social distancing, wearing a mask, and washing hands often.
It is important to note that COVID-19 is here, and it’s not going away anytime soon, Sullivan says. The priority then becomes how to operate the community safely.
“We’re trying to figure out how to best protect vulnerable populations and places, such as nursing homes,” Sullivan says. “I believe the state has been wise in saying they will devote resources to testing centers, personnel, decontamination efforts, and more. We have to continue to reopen our economy. We have to stay prepared and do the best we can, one day at a time.”
