In the busy, day-to-day routines of life, we sometimes forget to pause and reflect upon all the good that surrounds us every day. We recently had the opportunity to celebrate the great work that the faculty and staff of Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt and Vanderbilt University Medical Center do every day to make a difference in the lives of our patients and families. The stories shared at April’s Celebrate the Difference YOU Make Every Day event reminded us of the hope we offer through our innovative clinical programs, our commitment to discovery research and our teaching of the next generation of pediatric providers.

As the region’s only comprehensive pediatric health care provider, we are in the unique position to be able to establish programs that reach specialized groups of patients. Through the telling of stories, we share the great work of two of our specialized programs, both of which lead to improved care for our patients but also simplification of the day-to-day routines of patients and their families.

The Complex Care Program, led by David Hall, M.D., and supported in part by the Friends of Children’s Hospital, functions as the “team quarterback” to facilitate the development of care plans across multiple specialties and more importantly gives families one point of contact when a health care need arises.

Similarly, the Junior League Center for Advanced Maternal-Fetal Care, a multidisciplinary program supported by the Junior League of Nashville, and led by Kelly Bennett, M.D., John Pietsch, M.D., William Walsh, M.D., and recently, Melinda Markham, M.D., is a nationally recognized program that supports both mothers and babies who have problems detected during pregnancy. Both of these programs draw patients from our Middle Tennessee region but also from neighboring states and beyond because of the expertise and support offered through exemplary coordination of care.

Another story for us to share and celebrate with you is the completion of the Growing to New Heights Campaign, a capital endeavor led by Kathryn Carell Brown. We feature a patient and family, and we highlight our truly amazing community of generous individual, business and entertainment industry partners. They believe in our mission to serve all children with state-of-the-art facilities and to recruit the best and brightest faculty, trainees and staff. We are so fortunate to have these people as true friends of Children’s Hospital. Construction is underway for the new floors, which will enable us to continue to develop high quality, innovative clinical and discovery programs to improve the health and well-being of the children in our community, well into the future.

So as the slower days of summer settle upon us, we invite you to celebrate with us. We are so very grateful to live in a community where generous partners support us every day as we provide hope to children and families through the efforts of our dedicated and outstanding faculty, staff and trainees.

 

Sincerely,

Luke Gregory, FACHE
Chief Executive Officer

Meg Rush, M.D., MMHC
Chief of staff and Executive Medical Director

John W. Brock III, M.D.
Senior Vice President of Pediatric Surgical Services, Monroe Carell Jr. Professor and Surgeon-in-chief

Steven Webber, MBChB, MRCP
Pediatrician-in-chief, Chair of the Department of Pediatrics and James C. Overall Professor