It seems like just yesterday that we were moving patients…

It seems like just yesterday that we were moving patients across the connector from Vanderbilt University Hospital to Nashville’s new home for children’s health care: the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt. With a great big smile, Monroe Carell Jr. escorted the first transferred patient through the doors and to one of the new rooms. Earlier this year, as we celebrated 10 years of amazing program growth and recognition as the Top Children’s Healthcare Facility for Inpatient Services nationally (Excellence in Healthcare Award by Professional Research Consultants), we were simultaneously beginning a new chapter—furthering the vision of Monroe Carell Jr. and his wife, Ann. We are building upon decades of commitment to specialized medical and surgical services for children, helping educate the next generation of pediatricians and specialists and discovering better ways to prevent and treat pediatric diseases.

Although the health care landscape is shifting increasingly to delivery of care in the outpatient setting, even for children, demand for our more specialized services continues to grow. Over the past year, we cared for more than 52,000 patients in our Emergency Department and inpatient units and saw over a quarter million children in our clinics. Our partnerships with regional hospitals mean that more children will be referred for specialized treatments. Our relationship with community pediatricians ensures we share in the care of children from the doctor’s office to the hospital and back again.

With continued leadership and generosity from the Carell family and other community partners, we are Growing to New Heights—adding four new inpatient floors to better serve the increasing needs of our local and regional communities. This added space will enable growth and development of specialized programs—particularly those that treat and support more critically ill infants and children, like ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation), as well as those that use newer technologies, like robotic surgery. Multidisciplinary programs like these help our hospital stand out as a leader in best practices, a resource for training, and a destination for children and families with special health care needs.

The stories that follow highlight some of these programs as well as our focus on teamwork, collaboration, quality and innovation in all that we do. We are able to accomplish great things daily because our community partnerships help to shape our vision and deliver upon our mission of serving as a place of hope and healing. We are excited about our future and ever grateful for the support of our staff, our community and of course, our patients and families.

Sincerely,

Luke Gregory, FACHE
Chief executive officer

Meg Rush, M.D.
Chief of staff and executive medical director

John W. Brock III, M.D.
Surgeon-in-chief, director of the Division of Pediatric Urology and Monroe Carell Jr. Professor

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