{"id":237684,"date":"2025-11-07T12:39:27","date_gmt":"2025-11-07T17:39:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=237684"},"modified":"2025-11-07T12:39:27","modified_gmt":"2025-11-07T17:39:27","slug":"uconn-honoring-and-taking-care-of-our-veterans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2025\/11\/uconn-honoring-and-taking-care-of-our-veterans\/","title":{"rendered":"UConn Honoring and Taking Care of Our Veterans"},"content":{"rendered":"

Professor of Dermatology at UConn School of Medicine Dr. Brett Sloan is not only a Veteran, he\u2019s also long cared for his fellow Veterans during his military service, at UConn Health, and at the Connecticut Veteran\u2019s Administration Hospital in Newington.<\/p>\n

\"In
Dr. Brett\u00a0Sloan, a member of the Dermatology faculty at UConn School of Medicine (Tina Encarnacion\/UConn Health photo).<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a veteran,\u201d proudly states Sloan who served 16 years of active duty in the United States Air Force.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy grandfathers, father, uncle, brother and sisters all served in the military,\u201d he says. Sloan is a proud \u201cmilitary brat\u201d having spent his youth growing up on military bases in Germany and Cuba as his father served. In fact, his father, Lieutenant Colonel William G. Sloan Jr., an F-4 pilot, flew 130 air missions over North Vietnam and was bestowed 9 Air Medals and a Distinguished Flying Cross.<\/p>\n

Following in his father’s footsteps, Sloan started his military career at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland and was projected to be a fighter pilot like his father.<\/p>\n

\"Dr.
Dr. Brett Sloan when he was in the U.S. Naval Academy.<\/em> (Contributed photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cBut medicine was more my calling,\u201d recalls this first doctor in the Sloan family. In fact, the Air Force empowered him to attend medical school at the Uniformed Services University and training at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center where he trained to become a flight surgeon.<\/p>\n

\u201cI loved it, it was a lot of fun!\u201d says this retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel, who had the amazing career opportunity to travel the world with pilots ensuring their top medical care, health, and safety, and even provided them and their families with primary care.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a challenge, and tight quarters traveling from Italy to Las Vegas non-stop in an F16,\u201d he exclaims.<\/p>\n

\"Dr.
Dr. Brett Sloan had the exciting career of serving as a flight surgeon in the Air Force.<\/em> (Contributed photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When he was stationed as a flight surgeon in Italy, he found his next calling: to become a dermatologist.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy youngest daughter started struggling with eczema, and as her parents were both doctors ourselves, we felt helpless to adequately treat her,\u201d says Sloan. \u201cI also encountered numerous infectious skin disease while deployed overseas, so pursuing a career as a dermatologist was then a next, natural fit to help my daughter and my fellow veterans too.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Dr.
(Contributed photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Helping Other Veterans<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sloan says that during his active military duty he had to make sacrifices, too.<\/p>\n

\u201cPart of my interest in advocating for veterans is my experience as a disabled vet, as I lost my right lower leg from a traumatic event while stationed overseas.\u201d He stresses how instrumental the VA has been during rehabilitation and getting him back on his \u201cfeet.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Dr.
Dr. Brett Sloan.<\/em> (Contributed photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After being medically retired from the Air Force, in 2007 Sloan joined the dermatology faculty at UConn School of Medicine.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I got to UConn, our dermatology residency training program was just beginning, and we didn\u2019t have a relationship with the VA. It was important for me to start one,\u201d says Sloan. \u201cEver since 2007 our UConn dermatology resident trainees have been visiting the CT VA three times a week to care for veterans. Our trainees continue to offer a robust medical and surgical dermatology clinic to veterans, along with UConn faculty.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe veterans we care for at the CT VA are really grateful, and so supportive of our dermatology trainees learning experiences,\u201d says Sloan, as veterans may be higher risk for skin issues and skin cancers due to their service locations in the sun or other environmental or chemical exposures.<\/p>\n

Since 2010 Sloan served full-time at the CT VA as its dermatology site director, and just recently retired from VA service this March. But he serves as UConn\u2019s dermatology residency program director and still sees dermatology patients, including many veterans at UConn Health\u2019s South Road dermatology location in Farmington.<\/p>\n

A Grateful Veteran Patient<\/strong>
\nU.S. Navy Veteran Michael Puttin, 72, of Stafford Springs, is one of the many Connecticut Veterans benefiting from Sloan\u2019s dermatological care and the care of UConn residents at the VA, and the Mohs Surgery expertise at UConn Health.<\/p>\n

\"In
Veteran and UConn Health dermatology patient with his Mohs Surgeon Dr. Daniel Klufas (Tina Encarnacion\/UConn Health Photo).<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Puttin spent 21 years in the U.S. Navy. But he says his fair skin did not fare so well during half of his military service spent outside in places like Florida and Cuba.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve had over 30 precancerous and cancerous skin removal procedures like Mohs Surgery, mostly on my face, scalp, and arms,\u201d says Puttin.<\/p>\n

He recommends his fellow vets be sure to seek care.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe CT VA health system is one of the best!\u201d says Puttin who enjoys being cared for by UConn dermatology residents there. \u201cIt\u2019s very friendly, I have had nothing but excellent care. It\u2019s been great. I know care will be the same with doctors like Dr. Sloan overseeing the residents. The residents are superb.\u201d<\/p>\n

And Puttin is a big fan of helping future dermatologists learn and train.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s great. You have to learn sometime. Dr. Sloan wasn\u2019t born a dermatologist,\u201d says Puttin, who just had another Mohs Surgery procedure on Nov. 5 at UConn Health to remove a suspicious spot with expert Dr. Dan Klufas.<\/p>\n

How to Thank a Veteran<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Mohs
Mohs surgery expert Dr. Dan Klufas thanking Veteran and longtime, grateful UConn Health dermatology patient Michael Puttin on Nov. 5, 2025 prior to his Mohs Surgery procedure (Tina Encarnacion\/UConn Health photo).<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Sloan says, \u201cMost Americans hold those who have served in high regard, yet sometimes are unsure how to properly thank a veteran without unintentionally saying the wrong thing, appearing intrusive, or somehow offending them.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Sloan urges everyone this Veterans Day, to always remember to simply say thank you and ask them how they are doing.<\/p>\n

\u201cPlease say thank you for your service and sacrifice to veterans, but also thank their family too. It\u2019s not just about veterans; the whole family has sacrificed a lot. It\u2019s not an easy road,\u201d concludes Sloan.<\/p>\n

Happy Veterans Day to all who have served the U.S.A. We thank you!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Gratitude for all the Huskies who’ve served their country on this Veterans Day <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":98,"featured_media":237693,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2460,2231,1868,2235,179,2306,2234],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[1873],"class_list":["post-237684","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-faculty","category-health-well-being","category-meds","category-today-homepage","category-uconn-health","category-uconn-voices","category-university-life"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-07 06:31:49","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237684","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/98"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=237684"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237684\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":237724,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237684\/revisions\/237724"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/237693"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=237684"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=237684"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=237684"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=237684"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=237684"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}