The foundation of Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt is anchored …

The foundation of Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt is anchored in relationships and community need. The early days of our hospital reflect the very close partnership with the Junior League of Nashville as a ward was built to care for children suffering from polio. Several decades later, Monroe and Ann Carell helped make the vision a reality with the building of our freestanding hospital focused solely on the specialized medical and surgical needs of children and their families. Wrapped around the delivery of health care to children are the missions to educate the next generation of pediatricians and specialists as well as to conduct research to discover new and improved ways to prevent and treat pediatric disease.

As in the early days of our hospital, our growth in programs and services is in response to community need. We continue to take our specialty services to surrounding communities to make it more convenient for our families. In parallel, we develop new programs to not only improve health, but also to enhance the well-being of children and families when they are hospitalized. The growth of our services for children would not be possible without our great community partners.

In this issue, we feature our new pediatric liver transplant program and the impact this program will have on children not only in Middle Tennessee but throughout surrounding southern states. To further enhance the overall hospital experience for children with complex medical conditions like liver disease, we have an active Child Life program. The Junior League of Nashville has committed to supporting this important program where trained specialists use therapeutic play and activities to create a friendly environment and reduce fears around disease and hospitalization. We are also thrilled to share the story of the newest component of our Child Life experience: the Seacrest Studios—a state-of-the-art, multimedia studio that will further enhance access to music, entertainment, teaching and other fun activities for our children and families.

As we ‘grow to new heights’ and bring services closer to families, we continue to build upon our foundation of relationships that truly help us deliver upon our mission of being a place of hope and healing. We are excited about our journey, our future, and are 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., 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