John Howser

Despite 40 years of definitive data that confirms increased deaths and medical costs in states that do not support universal motorcycle helmet laws, members of Tennessee’s legislature have again this year filed legislation — Senate Bill 548/House Bill 44, Helmet Exemption for Certain Motorcycle Operators — to amend the state’s law so that wearing a motorcycle helmet would be optional for riders 25 and older. Read More

The Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. The 271-bed hospital, constructed to serve families from across the nation, opened in February 2004 and has seen millions of children and families pass through its doors. The facility’s anniversary marks a… Read More

C. Lee Parmley, M.D., J.D., professor of Anesthesiology and chief of the Critical Care Division of the Department of Anesthesiology, has been named chief of staff of Vanderbilt University Hospital. He assumed the position Feb. 17. Read More

According to annual figures available through the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Vanderbilt University School of Medicine (VUSM) is now ranked ninth in the nation among U.S. medical schools in total grant support provided through the nation’s medical research agency. Read More

William O. Cooper, M.D., MPH, Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor of Pediatrics, professor and vice chair for Faculty Affairs in the Department of Pediatrics, and professor of Health Policy, has been promoted and will have two new roles. He will now also serve as associate dean for Faculty Affairs within the Faculty Affairs & Career Development Office in the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and as director of the Vanderbilt Center for Patient and Professional Advocacy (CPPA). Read More

Vanderbilt University plans to build a four-floor inpatient expansion on top of the existing structure of the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, hospital officials announced Dec. 31, 2013. Each floor of the expansion will add approximately 40,000 square feet to Children’s Hospital that will be used to fulfill… Read More

William Stead, M.D., associate vice chancellor for Health Affairs and Chief Strategy Officer at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, has been re-elected to a second full term on the Council of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academies. Read More

Susan H. Guttentag, M.D., is joining Vanderbilt University on Feb. 1, 2014, as the new director of the Division of Neonatology within the Department of Pediatrics at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt. Read More

As Vanderbilt University Medical Center navigates large-scale operational change through Evolve to Excel (E2E) a number of creative and substantive cost savings initiatives have already been identified. The Medical Center’s first priority remains to achieve savings through efforts that focus on costs associated with supplies and other non-labor expenses. Read More

Cecelia B. Moore, MHA, CPA, vice president of Finance and Chief Operating Officer for the Patient Revenue Management Organization (PRMO) with Duke University Health System, has been named associate vice chancellor for Finance at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Read More

Vanderbilt University Medical Center is announcing the Staff Voluntary Early Retirement Incentive Program. Read More

Gerald Hickson, M.D., assistant vice chancellor for Health Affairs, associate dean for Faculty Affairs and the Joseph C. Ross Professor of Medical Education and Administration, is being promoted to the newly created position of senior vice president for Quality, Patient Safety and Risk Prevention. Read More

C. Wright Pinson, MBA, M.D., deputy vice chancellor for Health Affairs, CEO of the Vanderbilt Health System and senior associate dean for Clinical Affairs, was recently recognized as the Oregon Health Sciences University (OHSU) Department of Surgery Alumnus of the Year. Read More

With a desire toward process improvement that will result in lasting change, and in response to ongoing financial pressures from declining reimbursements for the treatment of Medicare and Medicaid patients along with reductions to federal research funding due to the nation’s ballooning deficit, Vanderbilt University Medical Center is embarking on a comprehensive program designed to sharpen operational practices throughout the institution to better meet the economic realities facing the future of health care delivery and research. Read More

Linda Norman, DSN, R.N., who for 22 years has spearheaded curricular innovations at Vanderbilt University School of Nursing (VUSN), will become the school’s new dean pending Board of Trust approval, effective July 1. Read More

Beginning June 1, Medical Center faculty and staff will notice the addition of a fenced-in area at street level in front of the north tower of Vanderbilt University Hospital (VUH). Read More

The leaders of Mountain States Health Alliance (MSHA) and Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) announced Friday that the two organizations have signed an affiliation agreement that will benefit MSHA, VUMC and the residents of Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia. “We are pleased to announce this… Read More

At a midyear Clinical Enterprise Town Hall meeting, those attending were updated on Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s year-to-date performance and the ongoing impact of separate pieces of federal legislation — the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 and the Budget Control Act of 2011, which has come to be known as sequestration. Read More

After more than two decades of service, Warren E. Beck, associate vice chancellor for Health Affairs and senior vice president for Finance, is departing Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Read More

Leaders with Cookeville Regional Medical Center (CRMC) and Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) today announced an affiliation agreement which formalizes collaborative relationships between the two institutions.  The affiliation agreement creates significant opportunities for both parties to work together to expand the scope of health care services in Putnam County… Read More