A special Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) employee celebration event — Celebrate the Difference YOU Make Every Day! — will be held in three sessions April 20-21 to acknowledge the many contributions of the Medical Center’s people.
The event, held in three sessions over the course of two days, will be held at Vanderbilt’s Memorial Gymnasium, making it as convenient as possible for employees to attend regardless of role, work shift or location. All employees from the 21st Avenue campus as well as those from Vanderbilt Health One Hundred Oaks, Green Hills and Williamson and surrounding counties are encouraged to attend. 
Employees will hear from leaders during the one-hour program, enjoy live entertainment and listen to inspiring stories from patients and colleagues.
The first session will be held Thursday, April 20, at 4:30 p.m. Doors open at 4 p.m. Friday, April 21, there will be two sessions. The morning event begins at 7:30 a.m. with doors opening at 7 a.m., and the midday session will begin at 11:30 a.m. with doors opening at 11 a.m. Employees are encouraged to be in their seats no later than 10 minutes prior to the beginning of the event.
Registration, which is required to attend, is now open in the Learning Exchange.
- Search for “Celebrate” in Learning Exchange.
- Click “Enroll” and then click “Choose Session”
- Select the session that you will attend.
“Each day our people make a difference in the lives of our patients and their families,” said C. Wright Pinson, MBA, M.D., Deputy CEO and Chief Health System Officer of VUMC. “It might be through discoveries in the laboratory that will improve health care for everyone, providing a compassionate touch to a frightened patient or family member in an intensive care unit, or keeping the grounds and facilities clean and in good working order. Every member of our team is vital to the Medical Center’s continued success.”
Celebrate is designed as an in-person, real-time, on-campus experience to enjoy with colleagues. No livestream is available.
Employees who work at the 21st Avenue Campus or surrounding locations such as 3401 West End and 2525 West End should park in their designated campus parking location. There will be complimentary parking available near Memorial Gymnasium for employees from One Hundred Oaks, Green Hills and Williamson and surrounding counties. Carpooling is recommended.
“Celebrating the difference each individual and team at VUMC make every day is a privilege,” said Marilyn Dubree, MSN, R.N., Executive Chief Nursing Officer. “The enthusiasm encountered during the event planning has been exciting and contagious.”
Dubree and Paul Sternberg Jr., M.D., Chief Medical Officer for the Vanderbilt Medical Group and VUMC’s Chief Patient Experience Officer, are co-chairs of the event.
“Marilyn and I are very excited about this event and really want to encourage as many of our wonderful workforce as possible to attend,” Sternberg said. “We have been partnering with leaders and managers across the enterprise to make arrangements that will allow staff to make it to one of the sessions. This will be a true celebration. It will be fun and entertaining, but we also want it to be meaningful. Our success at VUMC is a team effort, and every employee truly makes a difference.”
To coincide with the Celebrate event, a short video contest is being held. Employees are encouraged to get creative and develop a short video that reflects the difference that happens when a team comes together. A panel of reviewers will judge the videos. The first-prize winner will be announced and their video shown at the Celebrate event on April 20-21. Other entries will be eligible for a drawing for a team party.
• Videos must be no longer than 2 minutes in length.
• No patients or personal health information. If you are telling stories about a specific patient encounter, please avoid identifying details.
• If music or other third-party material is used, be sure that it is royalty free.
• To submit your video, upload it as an unlisted video on YouTube, Vimeo or other video sharing platform.
• Submit your entry as an email to Cynthia.manley@vanderbilt.edu. Use the subject line: CELEBRATE VIDEO CONTEST.
• Your email must include the URL to the unlisted video along with the name of the video, submitter’s name, email address and phone number, any team members involved and the department/clinic/work unit.
• Submission opens March 17 and will end April 14.
For questions about the video contest, email Cynthia.manley@vanderbilt.edu with subject line CELEBRATE VIDEO QUESTION.
For more information about Celebrate, including a link for registration for the three sessions and a list of Frequently Asked Questions, please visit www.VUMCcelebrate.com.
