Scott Patlovich, DrPH, has faced numerous challenges throughout his career in Environmental Health and Safety at UTHealth Houston. One of the most significant events occurred shortly after he moved from Colorado to Houston in 2001 when Tropical Storm Allison struck. The storm flooded his car, forcing him to hitchhike back to the Texas Medical Center, which had suffered severe flooding.
"McGovern Medical School was completely flooded in the basement and first floor. The Cyclotron building as well," Patlovich recounted. "For the next several weeks we provided all of the emergency response for the event as we removed water and dried out the building."
Despite a challenging start at UTHealth Houston, Patlovich remained committed to his career path. Initially interested in pursuing a career in sports or sciences, he eventually found his calling in environmental health sciences.
"I knew I didn’t want to be standing behind a lab bench for my days, so how could I be involved in the sciences and really make an impact?" he said. His journey led him to a health and safety internship at the University of Northern Colorado.
"In health and safety, when you are supporting people doing these great things and keeping them healthy and safe along the way, there’s a lot of job satisfaction," Patlovich explained.
Over time, Patlovich advanced within UTHealth Houston from a safety specialist to assistant vice president of Environmental Health and Safety. His experience includes working abroad at the National University of Singapore before returning to Texas.
"There is no question that I was drawn back to UTHealth Houston since it was such a great place to work," Patlovich stated.
Patlovich also collaborated with Bruce Brown on establishing the Robert J. Emery Endowed Fellowship in Occupational and Environmental Health Sciences at the School of Public Health in 2018.
"Dr. Emery has helped so many people across the profession," Patlovich said. "Every single person said, ‘Absolutely, just let me know where to send the check to start the fellowship.’"
Throughout his career, Patlovich has witnessed substantial growth at UTHealth Houston and emphasized adapting Environmental Health and Safety accordingly.
"We’ve got a great team," he noted. "We are trying to make sure we keep up with the pace of growth."
Outside work, Patlovich is active as a husband and father while also coaching little league baseball.
"It has been a heck of an experience," he remarked about coaching. "Safety comes before anything on the field."
Despite professional commitments, Patlovich maintains personal interests such as heavy metal music: "As a surprise, I’m bringing my boys to their very first concert... Metallica! I’m super excited."
