Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt celebrated the first birthday of its Seacrest Studios at an event on Tuesday, March 21.
Patients and families were joined at the celebration by special guests, including recording artist and television personality Billy Ray Cyrus, Miss Tennessee Grace Burgess, representatives from the Nashville Predators including mascot Gnash, Nashville Sounds mascot Booster, Musicians on Call, and animals from the Nashville Zoo.
Gary and Connie Seacrest were also in attendance to mark the first year of the state-of-the-art, multimedia broadcast studio, which was opened by the Ryan Seacrest Foundation (RSF) at Children’s Hospital in March 2016. RSF and the studios are charitable endeavors by radio and television host and producer Ryan Seacrest, his parents, Gary and Connie, and his sister, Meredith.
Seacrest Studios at Children’s Hospital marks the 10th broadcast media center the Ryan Seacrest Foundation has opened inside a pediatric hospital. The studio allows patients to explore the creative realms of radio, television and new media that can aid in the healing process for children and families during a visit to or stay in the hospital.
Over the past year, patients have had opportunities to take part in the studio, either in the broadcast center or by watching programming on closed-circuit television from their hospital room. Programming includes interviews and live performances, educational segments, patient-created content and more. The studio has welcomed Taylor Swift, Rascal Flatts, The Band Perry, Martina McBride, Kellie Pickler, American Authors, Michael W. Smith, David Archuleta, Tori Kelly and numerous other artists and special guests.
“The addition of Seacrest Studios at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt created an exciting venue for our hospital to host numerous special events and guests over the past year, which in turn has brought countless smiles to the patients and families in our care,” said Luke Gregory, chief executive officer of Children’s Hospital.
“Every day our hospital staff, physicians, nurses and Child Life specialists work with patients and families to provide a positive medical experience that is engaging and helps in the healing process. Seacrest Studios complements our mission to ensure Children’s Hospital is an inspiring and welcoming place for all children and families.”
