Vanderbilt University Medical Center

The emergency department at Monroe Carell Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt has seen an uptick in cases since temperatures have dipped to unprecedented lows.  More than 20 patients have been treated for carbon monoxide poisoning in the last 24 hours. Emergency physicians anticipate additional cases as temperatures are not expected to reach above freezing this week. Link to Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County warming locations in the comments cc Vanderbilt University Medical Center https://lnkd.in/gP8ncKmF

The American College of Surgeons has awarded its prestigious Emergency General Surgery Verification to Vanderbilt Health — making the program among the first in the country to achieve this recognition. Emergency general surgery accounts for over 4 million hospital admissions annually. These patients often face significant risks, facing three times the mortality rate and six times the complication rate compared with elective patients. “This recognition affirms the extraordinary teamwork, dedication and clinical excellence demonstrated every day by our surgeons, trainees, advanced practice providers, nurses and multidisciplinary partners,” said Dr. Michael Smith, associate professor of Surgery and medical director of Emergency General Surgery. Leading Vanderbilt Health’s efforts to receive the verification were Dr. Smith; Dr. Andrew Medvecz, assistant professor of Surgery in the Division of Acute Care Surgery; and Kayla Williams, RN, Emergency General Surgery Performance Improvement program manager for Vanderbilt Health. Learn more about the designation here: https://bit.ly/3LkEd76

We're so happy to have Dr. Hemnes' leadership and expertise!

Join us in congratulating our hospital partners at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and the Vanderbilt Transplant Center for performing 960 lifesaving organ transplants in 2025! This record-breaking achievement is a true testament to the hard work and dedication of their staff and the immense generosity and selflessness of donor heroes and their families who make the gift of life possible. 💙💚 It is truly an honor to work alongside the team at Vanderbilt Health to save lives each day, and we look forward to another year of saving more lives than ever — together! Read more about this incredible feat at https://lnkd.in/eh6kT-ry #DonateLife #OrganDonation #OrganDonor #VanderbiltHealth #VUMC

Wayne Wood opened his biopsy results and saw the word that can stop you in your tracks. Cancer. But what he felt in that moment wasn’t fear. It was relief. That moment was the result of weeks of coordinated care. It began with a routine prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test during a visit with Dr. Steven Allon. When results confirmed the PSA was rising, Wayne was referred to Urology, where he met with Taylor Brewer, a physician assistant who explained what to expect. Next came a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan. Then a biopsy at Vanderbilt Surgery Center Belle Meade, led by Dr. Kristen Scarpato and supported by a team Wayne describes as efficient, kind and steady. Wayne is a longtime writer at Vanderbilt Health. But this time, he was the patient. What he experienced was not just expert care. It was a series of small moments that added up to something powerful. Every person he encountered—from front desk staff to imaging technicians, nurses to anesthesiologists—helped make a difficult experience feel navigable. His diagnosis is low-risk prostate cancer, and for now, he is on active surveillance. But the outcome is only part of the story. What stayed with Wayne is how he got there—with trust, transparency and care that never lost sight of the person behind the test result. Read his full story here. https://bit.ly/4sWrMiO

Since January 2020, members of the Vanderbilt University Hospital’s Critical Care Outreach Team have responded to more than 10,000 rapid response calls in every non-intensive care unit in the adult hospital. The team’s job is to quickly assess and work to stabilize a patient, with the goal of averting a more serious medical crisis or death. It takes five minutes or less for the team — made up of advanced practice providers, including nurse practitioners and physician assistants, and a physician specializing in critical care medicine — to be at a patient’s bedside. “Our rapid response system and our Critical Care Outreach Team have truly transformed the safety culture at Vanderbilt University Hospital and made some remarkable interventions,” said Liza Weavind, MBBCh, MMHC, VUH associate chief of staff and professor of Anesthesiology and Surgery. Interested in joining Vanderbilt Health as an advanced practice provider? Explore all our opportunities here: https://lnkd.in/enRQkgKy

Country music artist and Country Music Hall of Fame member John Anderson will perform at a benefit concert for Vanderbilt Health on Wed., Jan. 28. Proceeds from the event at Ryman Auditorium will benefit Music Therapy and Hearing programs. After experiencing illness that led to severe hearing loss, Anderson credits Vanderbilt Health doctors such as David S. Haynes, MD, professor of Otolaryngology and Hearing and Speech Sciences, for helping him heal. Now still recovering, he says songwriting and performances serve as a healing process that allows him to keep making music. Tickets are available at this link: https://bit.ly/4b5I8ix

In celebration of her 80th birthday, Dolly Parton is sharing a heartfelt gift with the world and supporting Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt. 💛 Dolly has released a new version of “Light of a Clear Blue Morning,” a song she first recorded 50 years ago during a moment of transition and hope. This special rendition features an extraordinary lineup of female artists — Lainey Wilson, Miley Cyrus, Queen Latifah and Reba McEntire — and includes David Foster on piano and The Christ Church Choir. Proceeds from the new recording and music video will support pediatric cancer research at Monroe Carell, a cause close to Dolly’s heart and one she has championed for many years. Listen here: https://bit.ly/49WRxaW Thank you, Dolly, and happy birthday! 🦋

In 2025, the Vanderbilt Transplant Center performed 960 solid organ transplants — the most ever completed by a single center in U.S. history. The center is now the nation’s largest transplant center by volume, according to data from the United Network for Organ Sharing. The center saved 85 additional critically ill patients in calendar year 2025 than in 2024. The heart transplant team also set a new world record in 2025 for the second year in a row, performing 210 adult and pediatric heart transplants. The lung transplant program set a center record last year with 149 adult transplants, making it the No. 2 program in the U.S. Read more about the milestone here: https://bit.ly/49oHxY1

The Intersocietal Accreditation Commission has accredited Vanderbilt Health’s adult congenital transthoracic echocardiography program — making it the first in Tennessee and one of only eight in the U.S. to earn this designation. Read more about the program’s care for patients with congenital heart disease who transition from pediatric cardiology to adult cardiology services: https://bit.ly/4pDBbZs