Honor, Loss and Legacy

Remembering Professor Scott Reeves
By: Anthony Breitbach PhD, ATC

The first week of May 2018 was marked by personal achievement and tragic loss.

On Thursday, May 3rd I was honored by my colleagues in the Doisy College of Health Sciences with an “Excellence in Scholarship” award.  It was gratifying to receive this award 10 years after I moved over to a faculty position after 22 years in clinical practice as an Athletic Trainer.

I have been fortunate to collaborate with an excellent group of colleagues and mentors to build a line of scholarship in an area that I feel that is essential to the future of health care – Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Practice.

On the morning of May 4th, as our graduating students were making their Capstone presentations, I received the tragic news of the passing of Professor Scott Reeves. Scott is a friend, colleague and mentor who has had a tremendous influence on me and the Interprofessional field.

Reflecting on this news and my relationship with Scott ran a range of emotions: sadness for his wife Ruth and family; emptiness for the gaping hole left by the loss of a friend; gratitude for his impact on my work as a scholar; and determination to take a part with the Interprofessional community to continue Scott’s legacy.

Scott created many connections and influenced many to pursue interprofessional scholarship.  We invited him to Saint Louis University as a keynote speaker for the 2015 World Federation of Athletic Training and Therapy World Congress.  He gave several outstanding presentations at the Congress however, it was the informal conversations over dinner and a pint that left a lasting impact.

Scott Reeves with 2015 WFATT co-presenters Dr. Kim Peer (AT Education Journal) and Dr. Craig Denegar (Journal of Athletic Training.

He developed an appreciation for the Athletic Training profession and through that we looked for ways to collaborate.  We worked with Simon Fletcher on a project examining Sports Medicine and Interprofessional Collaboration that resulted in review paper:

Fletcher, S., Breitbach, A. P., & Reeves, S. (2017). Interprofessional Collaboration in Sports Medicine: Findings from a Scoping Review. Health & Interprofessional Practice, 3(2), eP1128. doi:10.7710/2159-1253.1128

We also got the opportunity to conduct research at the 2016 “All Together Better Health” Conference in Oxford, UK where he generously gave me the chance to connect with many new colleagues.  That research also resulted in a paper:

Breitbach, A. P., Reeves, S., & Fletcher, S. N. (2017). Health Care as a Team Sport? —Studying Athletics to Improve Interprofessional Collaboration. Sports, 5(3), 62.

Scott Reeves was a great friend, colleague and scholar.  He elevated the Interprofessional field and many of us owe him a debt of gratitude for the opportunity to know him and collaborate with him.

Prayers for him, Ruth and his family and I promise to work to provide a living legacy to him through my work to improve the lives of my students and persons in their care.