832-266-0676The Life and Time of Dr. Mavis Kelsey
| Year | In Dr. Kelsey's Life | That Same Year |
|---|---|---|
| 1912 | Mavis Parrot Kelsey, Sr. is born in Deport, Texas, on October 7, 1912, to John Roger and Bonita Kelsey, followed by sisters Mary Virginia (1914), Elizabeth Lillian (1916) and John Roger Jr. (1922). He is named after his mother's college roommate, Mavis Graham. |  The "unsinkable" ocean liner, The Titanic, sinks on its maiden voyage after colliding with an iceberg. |
| 1929 | Dr. Mavis Kelsey starts college at Texas A&M – the year the Great Depression started. The annual cost of tuition plus room and board is $338. | Penicillin is first used to fight an infection. |
| 1932 | In 1932, he receives his Bachelor of Science from Texas A&M College. That same year, he enters The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston to pursue his goal of becoming a doctor. It costs $30 to register as a medical student. His first experience with medical student life is joining the Alpha Kappa Kappa fraternity. |  Amelia Earhart is the first woman to fly across the Atlantic solo. |
| 1936 | Dr. Kelsey receives his Doctor of Medicine. |  Hoover Dam is completed, making it the world's largest hydroelectric power generating station. |
| 1938 | From 1938 to 1939, he serves on the Junior staff of Scott and White Clinic in Temple, Texas. | Orson Welles broadcasts his adaptation of H.G. Wells' "War of the Worlds", creating a nationwide panic as listeners believe that aliens have landed in New Jersey. |
| 1938 | Dr. Mavis P. Kelsey marries Mary Randolph Wilson. He accepts a three-year fellowship in Internal Medicine at the world-renowned Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. |  "The Wizard of Oz" and "Gone with the Wind" debut at movie theaters. |
| 1941 | Dr. Kelsey's medical training at the Mayo Clinic is interrupted by the United States' participation in the Pacific Theater during World War II. He serves in the U.S. Army Air Force, Medical Corps from 1941-1945. His assignments included Flight Surgeon of the 11th Fighter Command in Alaska, 1942-1943, and Editor-in-Chief of the Air Surgeon's Bulletin. | |
| 1945 | Dr. Kelsey attains the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and is awarded the Legion of Merit in 1945 for "exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements." |  World War II ends on September 2, 1945. |
| 1947 | Dr. Kelsey completes his medical training at the Mayo Clinic, at age 34, receiving a Masters of Science in Internal Medicine from the University of Minnesota, Mayo Foundation. He is appointed to staff of the Mayo Clinic as an Instructor in Medicine of the Mayo Foundation in the University of Minnesota and is allowed to complete his Fellowship. As a Fellow, he is paid $75 a month; as a staff physician, he receives $1,000 a month. He had been trained as a gastroenterologist and would be assigned to treat metabolic problems after training only six months in the specialty. |  The first "instant camera," the Polaroid Land Camera, is introduced. |
| 1949 | Dr. Kelsey leaves Rochester, Minnesota, at age 36 with Mary and his young family to start a clinic in Houston. He moves into his office on the 14th floor of the new Hermann Professional building on March 15, 1949, and begins solo practice. He has 750 square feet of office space. He also works part-time at MD Anderson Cancer Center on Baldwin Street, where he focuses on thyroid disease. He is charged with developing MD Anderson's clinical isotope program since he had the first license in Houston from the Atomic Energy Commission to administer radioisotopes. MD Anderson immediately begins using radioiodine for diagnosing and treating hyperthyroidism and thyroid cancer, giving the first dose of radioiodine to a patient in Houston in 1949. |  The average car cost $1,420. |
| 1950 | Dr. Kelsey encourages Dr. William Leary, an internist, and Dr. William Seybold, a surgeon, to reconsider the prospect of establishing a clinic in Houston, an idea the three doctors had previously discussed while at the Mayo Clinic. They envision a general clinic with specialties. The Texas Medical Center is growing. Several new hospitals are slated for construction. This is an opportunity to take part in the growth of a great center. Dr. Seybold, his wife and three young children move to Houston in October of 1950. |  8 million homes in the U.S. now own televisions. |
| 1951 | Dr. Leary of Owatonna, Minnesota, and his family relocate to Houston in January of 1951. Together the three Mayo-trained physicians found their practice and call it Kelsey, Seybold and Leary, not officially using the term "clinic" until late 1953. Their practice is on two floors of the Hermann Professional Building. Dr. Kelsey is appointed acting dean of the Post Graduate School of Medicine, which was the principal teaching facility at M.D. Anderson. |  "I Love Lucy" makes its television debut. |
| 1953 | Dr. Seybold decides it is best for him to go on his own as plans take shape to move the Kelsey, Seybold and Leary practice out of the Hermann Professional Building to a building of their own on Travis Street. Concerned the move might restrict his practice, Dr. Seybold opts to instead share an office with another doctor in the Hermann Professional Building. Drs. Kelsey and Leary, determined to start a clinic, name their group the Kelsey and Leary Clinic and plan the clinic's move. Dr. Kelsey's brother, Dr. John Kelsey, Jr., also Mayo-trained and a specialist in Gastroenterology, joins the clinic as a partner and also works at the V.A. Hospital. Joining the multispecialty team in the 1950s are a cardiologist, psychiatrist and rheumatologist. Clinic doctors begin rotations at area hospitals, including Hermann Hospital, Baylor College of Medicine and M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. |  Mr. Potato Head is the first toy advertised American television. |
| 1954 | The Kelsey and Leary Clinic moves into their new location at 6600 Travis at the corner of Dryden. The first employee of the Kelsey and Leary Clinic is Betty Wilcox, who works as a receptionist trainee and soon becomes the office manager. | Ernest Hemingway wins the Nobel Prize for literature. |
| 1956 | The Kelsey and Leary Foundation for the Advancement of Medicine (known today as The Kelsey Research Foundation) is established to provide scholarships and financial support for research. |  With many hit singles, including "Heartbreak Hotel," Elvis Presley emerges as one of the world's first rock stars. |
| 1957 | The new Kelsey Leary Clinic formally opens at Southgate and Travis. On March 6, 1957. It is eight years after Dr. Kelsey entered solo practice. The clinic has grown to a group of seven full-time physicians, and several part-time consultants. The clinic is still recruiting for other specialists. | The average wage is $3,642. |
| 1961 | Dr. William Seybold returns to the clinic, which is renamed the Kelsey-Leary-Seybold Clinic. | President John F. Kennedy announces his goal to initiate a project to put a man on the moon before the end of the decade. |
| 1962 | Dr. Kelsey is offered, and declines, a job in the American Medical Association headquarters as Director of the Divisions of Scientific Activity and Scientific Publications. | Johnny Carson takes over as permanent host of NBC's Tonight Show. |
| 1963 | Kelsey-Seybold Clinic moves into its newly built building at 6624 Fannin Street. The building consists of two stories and a full basement, with 11,000 square feet of space on each floor. The foundation is built to support an additional four floors. It wins several architectural awards, including First Award of a clinic building by the American Association of Medical Clinics. | Michael E. De Bakey implants artificial heart in human for first time at a Houston hospital. |
| 1964 | The clinic moves into new facilities at 6624 Fannin, which later becomes the site for the 29-story St. Luke's Tower. The clinic's name is changed to Kelsey-Seybold Clinic. Dr. Kelsey remains active in the thyroid clinic at M.D. Anderson Hospital and is reappointed clinical associate internist at an annual salary of $10,800. During this time, Aggie Greer joins the clinic as Dr. Kelsey's office nurse. With the exception of his brother, Aggie Greer is the most important person in Dr. Kelsey's 37 years at the clinic. She serves as his office nurse until Dr. Kelsey retired. | The Beatles appear on "The Ed Sullivan Show." |
| 1965 | The Kelsey-Leary-Seybold Clinic records its 50,000th new patient, has a full-time staff of 28 doctors and by this time has filled its new building at 6624 Fannin. During this time, Dr. Leary resigns for health reasons. (He later recovers and become Chief of the Pulmonary Medicine Department at M.D. Anderson Hospital, a position he held for several years.) He continues on the Kelsey-Leary Foundation board and serves as Chairman of the Grants Committee. The name of the clinic changes for the fourth and final time to Kelsey-Seybold Clinic on June 15, 1965. Dr. Kelsey resigns from his part-time job at M.D. Anderson but remains as a volunteer member of the staff. | The first US combat troops arrive in Vietnam. By the end of the year, 190,000 American soldiers are in Vietnam. |
| 1966 | Kelsey-Seybold Clinic wins its first Johnson Space Center contract. | The first successful space rendezvous is accomplished by astronaut Wally Schirra. |
| 1967 | Kelsey-Seybold Clinic pioneers branch clinics, opening its first branch office in Clear Lake. Over the next few years, branch offices are opened at The Galleria, Post Oak Tower, on Augusta at Bering, and at the Houston Center. Dr. H.R. Butt at the Mayo Clinic says the Mayo Clinic was influenced, in part, to open branch clinics by seeing Kelsey-Seybold's success. Meanwhile, the 6624 Fannin building is expanded by adding four floors for a total of 77,000 square feet of useable space. Initially, the top floor is left unfinished and the fifth floor is rented to Texas Children's Hospital for office and laboratory space. The clinic soon needs this space and within a couple of years occupies the entire building. | The world's first heart transplant takes place in South Africa by Dr. Christian N. Barnard. |
| 1974 | Kelsey-Seybold Clinic's full-time staff, including the NASA clinic, numbers 58 physicians and a dentist. Kelsey-Seybold Clinic has 42 partners with an average income of $60,000, which was considered good money in those days, and is higher than the average doctor income of other clinics. | The Post-It-Note is introduced. The Rubik's Cube is launched. |
| 1978 | The clinic has grown to 80 doctors. | Balloon angioplasty is developed to treat coronary artery disease. |
| 1979 | Dr. William Seybold retires | The Sony Walkman debuts, changing music listening habits by allowing people to carry music with them. |
| 1981 | Kelsey-Seybold Clinic wins the Air Force Health Survey Study, the largest contract in the history of the clinic, bringing in a profit of $1.3 million. The purpose of this study is to determine whether the defoliant Agent Orange has harmed troops exposed to it during the Vietnam War. | The term "Internet" is first mentioned. |
| 1986 | Dr. Kelsey announces his intention to retire from practice in January and sees his last paying patient one month later on February 15, 1986. There are 150 Kelsey-Seybold Clinic doctors when he retires. | Nintendo video games are introduced in the U.S. |
| 1987 | Dr. Kelsey receives the Ashbel Smith Distinguished Alumnus Award from UTMB. This same year, he is invited to become a member of the university's development board. His brother, Dr. John Kelsey, retires. Kelsey-Seybold Clinic honors him by creating the Mavis P. Kelsey, M.D., Excellence in Medicine Award, given to a fourth-year UTMB student in the top 10 percent of his or her class. | The New York Giants defeat the Denver Broncos in the Super Bowl. |
| 1988 | Dr. Kelsey is named Houston Aggie of the year by the Houston A&M Club. | "Rain Man," "A Fish Called Wanda" and "Bull Durham" debut at the box office. |
| 1995 | Dr. Kelsey is honored by being made a Fellow of the Kelsey-Seybold Clinic. | Yahoo! is founded in Santa Clara, California. |
| 1999 | Kelsey-Seybold Clinic moves into its state-of-the-art Main Campus at 2727 West Holcombe Blvd. | Companies and organizations check and upgrade their computer systems in fear of the Y2K problem. |
| 2005 | Kelsey-Seybold opens the 75,000 square-foot state-of-the-art Fort Bend Medical and Diagnostic Center, offering access to a wide range of primary care and specialty care doctors, expanded pharmacy with drive-thru services, and enhanced diagnostic services such as Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), Computerized Tomography (CT), mammography and X-ray. | Cancer replaces heart disease as No. 1 cause of death for people ages 85 and under. |
| 2007 | Dr. Kelsey celebrates his 95th birthday. His vision of combining the expertise of specialists, with the close personal care of a family doctor has been achieved. Kelsey-Seybold Clinic is a renowned multispecialty practice and one of the largest and most experienced providers of medical care in Houston and the Southwest. This same year, the 28,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art Kelsey-Seybold Clinic – Cypress and Kelsey Pharmacy opens in Northwest Houston. In addition, KelseyCare powered by Cigna is launched. | Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveils the first iPhone. |
| 2008 | In April, Kelsey-Seybold ushers in its 18th location – Kelsey-Seybold Clinic at The Vintage – to meet the demand for medical services in Houston's booming northwest suburbs. The 60,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art medical and diagnostic facility and pharmacy is located between Cypresswood and Louetta off of Highway 249. | The cost of a first-class stamp is 42 cents. |
| 2009 | Kelsey-Seybold Clinic proudly celebrates 60 years of caring in 2009 and Dr. Mavis Kelsey's vision of a premier medical group combining Family and Internal Medicine with the highly focused expertise of specialists in all medical fields. | After confirming 20 cases of the H1N1 flu virus, also called swine flu, in the United States, U.S. declares the outbreak a public health emergency. |
| 2010 | Dr. John Kelsey dies at the age of 88. Kelsey-Seybold Clinic opens its 19th location at Shadow Creek Ranch in Pearland and its 20th location at Cinco Ranch in Katy, Texas. | The Apple iPad hits store shelves. |
| 2011 | Kelsey-Seybold Clinic opens its 13th pharmacy, Kelsey Pharmacy - Downtown in January, relocates its downtown location to The Shops at Houston Center and opens its Kelsey-Seybold Sleep Center. | The space shuttle Atlantis launches into space for the last time from the Kennedy Space Center. |
| 2012 | Kelsey-Seybold Clinic celebrated the 100th birthday of founder Mavis P. Kelsey, M.D. | A plutonium-powered rover named Curiosity successfully lands on Mars. |
| 2013 | Kelsey-Seybold Clinic and Boon-Chapman, a Texas-based third-party administrator of employee benefits, announced a partnership to deliver Kelsey-Seybold's "KelseyCare" health benefits plan to partially self-funded employers in the Greater Houston area with 50 or more covered employees. Kelsey-Seybold Clinic opened Meyerland Plaza Clinic in April. Kelsey-Seybold builds brand new Pasadena Clinic to replace its existing location. On October 7, our founder celebrated his 101st birthday. On November 12, 2013, physicians, staff and patients at Kelsey-Seybold Clinic mourned the loss of their founder, doctor and friend, Mavis P. Kelsey, M.D. who passed away after having lived to 101 years of age. Colleagues and doctors worldwide remember Dr. Kelsey as a medical pioneer who brought the collaborative healthcare model to the Houston area more than 60 years ago when he founded Kelsey-Seybold Clinic. |