Full Circle: How Dr. Jeffrey Brown Turned a Summer Mentorship into a Career of Service

Full Circle: How Dr. Jeffrey Brown Turned a Summer Mentorship into a Career of Service

By KIMBERLY LUCEY MILLEN / Photography by STAN GODLEWSKI

For Jeffrey Brown, M.D., a career in medicine didn’t begin in a classroom or a hospital. It started with a summer opportunity that would quietly shape the course of his life. Growing up in West Hartford and attending Conard High School, Dr. Brown was a very active kid. “I grew up playing sports for fun in my neighborhood,” he says. “Soccer and tennis were my main interests, but we were always outside playing something. Sometimes that meant moving hockey goals so cars could get by or pick up football games. Other times, it meant golf on the nearby Rockledge Golf Club. I was so lucky to live near such a great public course.” A high school biology teacher encouraged him to apply for a summer internship with the American Heart Association at Saint Francis Hospital. That decision would prove pivotal.

The Mentor Who Changed Everything

That summer, Dr. Brown worked in the cardiology department at Saint Francis Hospital alongside Bernie Clark, M.D., who served as associate chief of cardiology and chair of the Department of Medicine. It was his first real exposure to medicine. It left a lasting impression. “He was so fun, positive and smart. He was the first physician mentor I ever had,” explains Dr. Brown. “That’s what really propelled my interest into medicine as a possibility.”
More than anything, Dr. Brown remembers how Dr. Clark connected with patients. “I saw the enjoyment a physician can have getting to know their patients and interacting with them in a down-to-earth way,” Dr. Brown says. That experience changed how he saw the profession. “His everyday interactions and reactions to people, how enjoyable and positive it can be, that really stuck with me. It showed me that medicine can be really fun and impactful.”

The Path to Medicine

After high school, Dr. Brown was accepted into an eight-year combined undergraduate and medical program at Brown University. That program encouraged students to explore undergraduate majors outside of traditional science tracks; he chose to study urban studies. He went on to complete his residency in family medicine at the University of Rochester, where he served as chief resident.
He later returned to Connecticut for a sports medicine fellowship at the University of Connecticut, based at the Family Medicine Center at Asylum Hill, a medical office that is part of Saint Francis. During fellowship training, he found himself once again working alongside Dr. Clark, testing patients for cardiovascular fitness and health.
“The way I see it, coming back to Saint Francis is full circle,” Dr. Brown states. Today, he serves as director of primary care sports medicine for Trinity Health Of New England Orthopedics at Saint Francis, where his role is divided between clinical care, program leadership and teaching. About a third of his time is spent seeing patients with sports and musculoskeletal injuries. Another third is focused on running sports medicine programs. The rest is dedicated to his role as associate fellowship director.
“It’s a wonderful mix of three things that are really fun to do. It’s perfect for me personally and what I really like to do,” he continues. That variety is what keeps Dr. Brown engaged. “It uses all parts of your brain. Creativity, policy work, teaching, helping medical students, residents and fellows, and then helping people in your own office is stimulating, fun and never boring.”

Carrying on a Legacy of Mentorship

Mentorship remains central to Dr. Brown’s work, just as it was for Dr. Clark until his retirement three years ago. “He’s the epitome of a mentor. He’s always mentored people in medicine. It’s part of his DNA,” Dr. Brown adds.
Now, he is continuing that legacy. Since 2000, the sports medicine fellowship has worked with Hartford Public Schools to make sports medicine care accessible to student athletes. “We bring sports medicine to them. This is a population that often has difficulty getting access to sports medicine or really any medical appointment.”
Dr. Brown manages a team of fellows who travel each week to up to five high schools in Hartford to serve as team physicians. The fellows evaluate injuries and help guide care, working alongside athletic trainers and school nurses. “Most athletes can be managed right there at the school,” Dr. Brown states. “And for those who need more, we help connect them to care and arrange what they need.”
The program has grown into a long-standing partnership and has expanded to include the Capitol Region Education Council (CREC) magnet schools. They didn’t have an athletic trainer program until Dr. Brown began working with them five years ago. “This way we’re able to bring new services to their athletes in a very fast way,” continues Dr. Brown. “We’ve developed a concussion program, documentation procedures and work on key illness prevention, as well as emergency access planning for events. It’s been a wonderful partnership to bring services to underserved schools and athletes, and also to provide really great experiences for our fellows.”

Helping Athletes Get Back in the Game

Dr. Brown’s impact extends far beyond the hospital through his passion for sports medicine and helping people return to the activities they love. “I find it really fun to work with people who are motivated to get back to their normal level of activity,” he says. In addition to his work with high school athletes, Dr. Brown is a team physician for Central Connecticut State University athletic department, and the lead team physician for the Hartford Athletic soccer team, which is part of the United Soccer League (USL).
“Many of the USL players are working to try to move up to Major League Soccer,” adds Dr. Brown, “and others are former MLS players who are just trying to play the game they love for as long as they possibly can.” When these players take to the pitch at Trinity Health Stadium, Trinity Health Of New England physicians are on the sidelines. “These athletes are motivated to perform at the highest level they can. And if they get hurt, they’re very active in their treatment plan. You’re guiding them to get back in the fastest and safest way.” For Dr. Brown, that process is what makes the work so rewarding. “It’s not stressful. It’s enjoyable to do it,” he says. “You’re helping people do what they love.”
Dr. Brown also leads the Hartford Marathon Foundation’s League of Injured Runners. A team of sports medicine specialists and orthopedic surgeons from Trinity Health Of New England Orthopedics help get runners through the mental anguish and physical challenges of injury, offering best practices for injury prevention and recovery.

A Career Rooted in Community

Now living in Glastonbury, Dr. Brown remains deeply connected to the Connecticut community that helped shape him. “I wanted my work to be impactful, to have meaning for people, to help them and to also be practical,” he says. He works closely with fellows, residents and students, guiding them not only in clinical care but in how to connect with patients. “People can ask me anything and I’ll know the basics to get them on the right path to help the situation.”
Looking back, he traces everything to that first summer at Saint Francis and his first mentor. “Dr. Clark was a really personable physician. He engendered trust and treated people with confidence and skill in a really fun way, while getting work done at a very high level.” And in many ways, Dr. Brown has become exactly what first inspired him. “Dr. Clark’s position in cardiology was similar to what I do now in sports medicine,” he concludes. “Mentoring and teaching is inspiring and fun.”

Kimberly Lucey Millen is a freelance journalist with more than two decades of experience in both print and broadcast media. She lives in New England with her husband and son, exploring all that each of the four seasons has to offer. Connect on Instagram @kimlucey.

Stan Godlewski is an editorial, corporate and healthcare photographer based in Connecticut and working primarily between Boston and New York City.