Michelle Barron, MD
Ronald Colson, MD
Robert Quaife, MD
Nicholas Alfonso, MD
The coordination and cooperation of all the medical personnel were just fantastic. Our family is convinced that they all, as a group, saved my life. George Sissel Dr. Barron impressed the Sissel family during George’s treatment. In January 2020, Mary, along with their daughter, Jenifer, and their son, Greg, generously established the Sissel Family Infectious Diseases Fund to support Dr. Barron in her research on infection prevention and control. A few months later, George also made a gift to support the fund. Mary said, “We watched Dr. Barron in action and wanted to support her. We know that she is sincerely dedicated to finding answers to difficult and complex infectious disease challenges. We observed her expertise and her commitment, and our family decided to invest in her work — even more critical and timely today.” When the Sissel family informed Dr. Barron that they wanted to support her work philanthropically, she was stunned. “I almost cried,” she said, “I was at a point in my research career where finding support had become increasingly challenging. Before they did this I thought, well maybe I need to wrap this up and I’ll just be done with it. Their gift has reinvigorated me. Somebody believes in me.” Dr. Barron’s plan for the Sissel Family Infectious Diseases Fund includes looking at patients who have had COVID-19 to see if there are correlations between other diseases, and whether they develop bacterial and fungal infections at higher rates than expected. Her results could inform or create new preventive measures to protect vulnerable patients from infection. In the future, Dr. Barron hopes to tackle broader public health issues that affect overlooked Colorado residents. “There are pockets of our community that are disenfranchised in terms of medical access and literacy. It would be interesting to fund a program that would research and create helpful programs including cultural- and language- specific resources for preventive care.” Though they met under dire and extremely unlikely circumstances, the Sissel family found inspiration in the collaborative nature of their UCH team. The family’s generosity, paired with Dr. Barron’s relentless compassion and curiosity, may one day offer the same lifesaving experiences for families across Colorado and beyond.
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