The Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt officially launched a $30 million expansion project April 7 with a beam-signing celebration. Friends, donors, patients and Medical Center leadership added their signatures to a 14-foot, bright yellow beam that will become part of the permanent structure for the 33-bed, 30,000-square-foot, first-phase addition. Construction will include a five-story addition to the hospital’s northwest corner. Also included will be a new third-floor surgical preoperative and recovery area, as well as added space for pediatric clinics.