Louis W. Sullivan facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Louis W. Sullivan
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| 17th United States Secretary of Health and Human Services | |
| In office March 1, 1989 – January 20, 1993 |
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| President | George H. W. Bush |
| Preceded by | Otis Bowen |
| Succeeded by | Donna Shalala |
| Personal details | |
| Born | November 3, 1933 Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Eva Ginger Sullivan |
| Education | Morehouse College (BS) Boston University (MD) |
Louis Wade Sullivan (born November 3, 1933) is an important leader in health policy. He is also a strong supporter of better health for minority groups. Dr. Sullivan is an author, a physician (doctor), and an educator. He served as the Secretary of the United States Department of Health and Human Services for President George H. W. Bush. He also helped start the Morehouse School of Medicine.
Contents
- About Louis Sullivan: Early Life and Education
- Morehouse School of Medicine: A New Beginning
- Serving the Nation: Secretary of Health and Human Services
- The Sullivan Commission: Promoting Diversity in Healthcare
- The Sullivan Alliance: Continuing the Mission
- National Health Museum: Inspiring Healthier Lives
- Other Activities and Contributions
- Honors and Recognition
- See also
About Louis Sullivan: Early Life and Education
Louis Wade Sullivan was born in Atlanta, Georgia. Soon after he was born, his parents moved to a small town called Blakely, Georgia. His father worked as a mortician, and his mother was a teacher. To make sure Louis and his brother Walter got a good education, their parents sent them to live with friends in Atlanta during the school year. Atlanta had better public schools.
When he was just five years old, Louis decided he wanted to work in healthcare. His family doctor inspired him, and his teachers and parents encouraged him.
High School and College Years
In 1950, Sullivan graduated from Booker T. Washington High School in Atlanta. He was the second-highest ranked student in his class. He then went to Morehouse College and graduated with high honors in 1954. After that, he earned his medical degree from Boston University School of Medicine in 1958, also with honors.
Medical Training and Specializations
After medical school, Dr. Sullivan continued his training. He did an internship and residency in internal medicine at New York Hospital – Cornell Medical Center. He also studied pathology at Massachusetts General Hospital. Later, he focused on hematology, which is the study of blood, at Harvard Medical School.
Dr. Sullivan is certified in internal medicine and hematology. He is also a member of important academic honor societies like Phi Beta Kappa.
Teaching Career and Family Life
From 1963 to 1975, Dr. Sullivan taught medicine at several universities. These included Harvard Medical School and Seton Hall College of Medicine. In 1966, he became a co-director of hematology at Boston University Medical Center. A year later, he started the Boston University Hematology Service at Boston City Hospital. He taught about conditions like sickle-cell anemia and blood problems caused by not having enough vitamins.
He married E. Ginger Williamson, who is an attorney, on September 30, 1955. They have three children. Dr. Sullivan is also a member of the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity.
In 1992, he received the Golden Plate Award from the American Academy of Achievement. In 2000, he was given an honorary degree from Oglethorpe University.
Morehouse School of Medicine: A New Beginning
In 1975, Dr. Sullivan became the first dean and director of the Medical Education Program at Morehouse College. This program grew into The School of Medicine at Morehouse College in 1978. It welcomed its first 24 students, who studied basic medical sciences for two years.
Growing the Medical School
By 1981, the school could offer a four-year program leading to an M.D. degree. It became independent from Morehouse College and was renamed Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM). Dr. Sullivan became its dean and president. In 1983, MSM joined the Atlanta University Center. The school was fully approved as a four-year medical school in April 1985. It awarded its first 16 M.D. degrees in May of that year.
Dr. Sullivan led the Morehouse School of Medicine for over two decades. The only time he left was to serve as the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. He retired on July 1, 2002, and was named president emeritus.
Serving the Nation: Secretary of Health and Human Services
In 1989, President George H.W. Bush asked Dr. Sullivan to be the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). In this important role, Dr. Sullivan was in charge of a federal agency. This agency handles major programs for health, welfare, food and drug safety, medical research, and income support for Americans.
Key Health Initiatives
Dr. Sullivan worked hard to improve the health of Americans. Some of his main efforts included:
- Introducing a new and better food label for the FDA. This helped people make healthier food choices.
- Releasing Healthy People 2000. This was a guide to help promote health and prevent diseases.
- Starting a public education program about the dangers of tobacco use. This included stopping a new type of cigarette called "Uptown" from being sold.
- Launching a $100 million program to improve the health and prevent injuries among minority males.
- Making sure there was more diversity in leadership roles at HHS. He appointed many women and people from different ethnic backgrounds to senior positions.
Diverse Leadership Appointments
During his time, Dr. Sullivan appointed:
- The first female Director of the National Institutes of Health.
- The first female (and first Hispanic) Surgeon General of the U.S. Public Health Service.
- The first African-American Commissioner of the Social Security Administration.
- The first African-American Acting Administrator of the Health Care Financing Administration.
- The first female Chief of Staff of the Department of Health and Human Services.
Improving Healthcare Information
In 1991, Dr. Sullivan created the Workgroup for Electronic Data Interchange (WEDI). WEDI helps improve how healthcare information is shared using Health IT. This helps make healthcare better, more efficient, and less costly. In 2013, Dr. Sullivan led a group that updated the WEDI Report. This report helps guide the future of health information exchange.
In January 1993, Dr. Sullivan returned to Morehouse School of Medicine. He continued as its president until 2002.
The Sullivan Commission: Promoting Diversity in Healthcare
The Sullivan Commission on Diversity in the Healthcare Workforce was started in 2003. It was named after Dr. Louis W. Sullivan. This group of 16 experts in health, business, education, and law worked together. They wanted to find ways to increase the number of minority groups in healthcare jobs.
Why Diversity Matters
The Commission found that while African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and American Indians make up almost 25% of the U.S. population, they were much less represented in healthcare. For example, they were less than 9% of nurses, 6% of doctors, and only 5% of dentists.
The Sullivan Commission gathered ideas from many leaders and experts. Their report, called Missing Persons: Minorities in the Health Professions, gave a plan for making the health professions more diverse.
The Sullivan Alliance: Continuing the Mission
In 2005, Dr. Sullivan started The Sullivan Alliance. This non-profit organization works to put the recommendations of the Sullivan Commission into action.
What The Sullivan Alliance Does
The Alliance has several goals:
- It helps people understand why it's important to have different racial and ethnic groups in healthcare jobs.
- It shares information about the best ways to help more diverse students enter health professions.
- It encourages academic programs to create or improve their diversity initiatives in medicine, dentistry, nursing, psychology, and public health.
The Alliance also works on projects to train more dental professionals. This helps address the shortage of dentists and increases diversity in dental fields.
International Health Research
The Sullivan Alliance has also created an international group. This group works on health differences between the U.S. and the Caribbean. They do epidemiological research to understand how things like history, ancestry, language, lifestyles, and economic status affect health. This project is called the U.S.-Caribbean Alliance for Health Disparities Research (USCAHDR).
National Health Museum: Inspiring Healthier Lives
Dr. Sullivan is the chairman of the National Health Museum (NHM), located in Atlanta. The NHM aims to teach and inspire Americans to live healthier lives. It wants to help society focus on staying healthy, not just treating illnesses. The museum will have an online "Cyber Museum" and a physical "Experience Museum" in Atlanta.
Other Activities and Contributions
Board Memberships
Dr. Sullivan serves on the boards of several organizations. These include Henry Schein, United Therapeutics, and Emergent BioSolutions. He has also retired from the boards of major companies like General Motors and 3M.
He is the founding president of the Association of Minority Health Professions Schools (AMHPS). He was also a member of important health policy committees.
Dr. Sullivan is also a board member for Africare and Callaway Gardens.
Leadership Roles
In 1985, Dr. Sullivan helped start Medical Education for South African Blacks (MESAB). He led this organization from 1994 to 2007. MESAB raised money for scholarships for over 10,000 black health professions students in South Africa. These students are now doctors, nurses, and other health professionals.
In 2008, Dr. Sullivan was appointed to the Grady Hospital Corporation Board of Trustees. He also joined a panel on health differences for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
Publications
Dr. Sullivan has written and co-written many academic papers. He has also contributed to two books:
- The Morehouse Mystique: Becoming a Doctor at the Nation's Newest African American Medical School (2012)
- Breaking Ground: My Life in Medicine (2014)
Annual Sullivan 5K Run/Walk
In 1989, Dr. Sullivan and his wife, Ginger, started the Annual Sullivan 5K Run/Walk. This event takes place on Martha's Vineyard in Oak Bluffs, MA. The race promotes their belief that daily exercise is good for health. In 2023, the event celebrated its 35th anniversary. It has raised about $800,000 to support the Martha's Vineyard Hospital.
Honors and Recognition
In 2024, Dr. Sullivan was honored as a Georgia Trustee. This award is given by the Georgia Historical Society and the Governor of Georgia. It recognizes people whose achievements and community service show the ideals of the original Trustees who governed the Georgia colony.
See also
