Jennifer Sullivan, MD, MPH, is lead for national service lines at Advocate Health, overseeing clinical operations and strategy for the cancer, heart and vascular and neurosciences service lines as part of the REWIRE 2030 transformation strategy. She also serves as a principal investigator for the PCORI Health System Implementation Initiative, aligning care delivery with the goals of an academic learning health system. Previously, she was senior vice president of strategic operations at Atrium Health and served as Indiana’s secretary of family and social services under Governor Eric Holcomb, following roles as deputy state health commissioner and director for health outcomes. A professor of clinical emergency medicine and pediatrics at Wake Forest University School of Medicine and adjunct professor at Indiana University, Sullivan continues to practice at Levine Children’s Hospital. She has been recognized with numerous awards for her leadership and impact in health policy and is an Aspen Institute global health innovator and women of impact fellow.
Sullivan will present "From Resuscitation to Regulation" at the Airway, Breathing, Celebration CME event as part of the Department of Emergency Medicine residency program's 50th anniversary celebration. She said, "I hope that those who attend our session have a glimpse into the power of stories of patients that we have the privilege to encounter in our clinical realm and the opportunities that we have to let those stories shape health policy, health care delivery and lead to a better future."
Question: Looking back on your training, what drew you to this residency program, and what experience or moment continues to stand out for you today?
Sullivan: I was drawn to the program because it was one of three programs in the country where I could truly draw on broad training that would help me to define my career. That has certainly proven to be true over the last 20 years, and I credit the heart of pediatrics, the quick decision-making of emergency medicine and the support of half a decade of training with incredible mentors to opening up a world of possibilities. There are too many stories to pick one, so I will just say as the new emergency medicine model at Wishard (now Eskenazi Health Sidney & Lois Eskenazi Hospital) unfolded, running around with stacks of clipboards under both arms is a visceral experience one never forgets.
Q: In what ways did this program shape your approach to emergency medicine and influence your career path or leadership journey?
Sullivan: Our training is different in that our program director leadership assumed that by virtue of being an emergency physician, we were leaders. To lead teams in the emergency department, we needed to know the principles of leadership, regardless of whether those would manifest in formal ways in the future. To that end, every graduate is a trained leader. We are taught that we must make a difference where we are and that sense of responsibility and accountability means that when a need is seen, we raise our hand and step in to fill the need. For me, those needs have spanned everything from frontline pediatric emergency care to public health, human services and healthcare operations.
Q: What lesson, value, or habit from residency still guides your work as an emergency physician today?
Sullivan: I am a Carey Chisholm acolyte in retrograde planning. He taught us that when you have a big task, you set the end date and then break it into small chunks so that each piece leading up to the final product receives plenty of time to get your best output. This started with training us on how to prepare for giving grand rounds but continues to guide me in designing operational changes for a seven-state healthcare system.
Kevin Rodgers taught me that as a leader, if you can’t reach a win-win outcome in a conflict, you simply haven’t worked hard enough. That foundational responsibility — to engage in problem-solving even when the issue isn’t "yours" — is what separates a good leader from a great one.
Q: As you reflect on your career and the evolution of emergency medicine, what does the program’s 50th anniversary mean to you personally?
Sullivan: I’m so proud to be part of this legacy. There is nothing in my career that would have happened without this training, these people and this worldview.
Q: What are you most excited about when you think about the future of emergency medicine and the next generation of physicians?
Sullivan: One of the neurosurgeons who works for me has a great quote. He says, "Make sure you are nice to all the emergency medicine doctors. One day they will be your boss." Emergency physicians are uniquely trained and specifically equipped to help be a part of solutions for healthcare in the future. This is not only in the care that we provide patients one at a time, but the way that we think about systems and their complexity in order to support patients and communities.
