by Christina Echegaray
Meg Rush, MD, MMHC, President of Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, has been elected to the Children’s Hospital Association Board of Trustees. Her term began Jan. 1.
The Children’s Hospital Association is a member organization representing more than 220 children’s hospitals nationwide. Serving as a voice for its members and champions of children’s health, CHA’s mission is to advance child health through innovation in the quality, cost and delivery of care in children’s hospital and health systems nationwide.
A member of the Board of Trustees embodies this mission individually as a leader and representative of their respective organization and collectively as fiduciary leaders and stewards of CHA’s strategic priorities, initiatives and organizations.
“I am truly honored to be asked to serve in this way and excited to join a very talented group of leaders to advance children’s health in our country. The Board of Trustees is an active group of individuals who bring diverse vantage points from their individual hospitals, systems and states but with a shared vision of working together to advance causes important to the health and well-being of our youth,” Rush said.
The Board of Trustees is responsible for leading and collaborating across CHA’s membership hospitals and provides strategic guidance across the organization’s work in policy development, advocacy, quality and improvement, learning and engagement, and much more.
Since taking on the role of President of Monroe Carell in February 2020, Rush has been active in the Children’s Hospital Association, sitting on the organization’s quality committee.
In September 2021, in collaboration with CHA and the American Academy of Pediatrics, she testified before a U.S. Congressional committee hearing — “Putting Kids First: Addressing COVID-19’s Impact on Children.”
Rush earned her undergraduate degree from DePauw University in Indiana and her medical degree from University of Cincinnati School of Medicine. Since arriving at Vanderbilt in 1984 as a resident, she has spent her career focused on the care of children and their families as a neonatologist, researcher and administrator.
Rush was named chief of staff of Monroe Carell in 2007, subsequently adding the responsibilities of executive medical director in 2012, holding both posts until assuming the role of President.