When Brittany Ross’ 10-year-old daughter, Jaycey, doubled over with severe abdominal pain in 2022, the Hickman County family faced a decision familiar to many rural Tennessee parents: take a long, stressful drive into downtown Nashville or find care closer to home.
The Rosses chose Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital Vanderbilt at Williamson Medical Center, where their daughter’s life was likely saved by providers who recognized a dangerous antibiotic-resistant strain of E. coli that had found its way into the community.
“They knew exactly what to do right away,” recalls Ross, a nurse whose husband is a physical therapist. “Even though we both knew enough to recognize this was serious, we were blessed that they were knowledgeable enough not to give her antibiotics, which could have put her on dialysis or worse.”
Meeting the Moment
The specialized pediatric emergency department and 10-bed inpatient unit, now marking 10 years of partnership between Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Williamson Health, represents something unique in Middle Tennessee: the only distinct pediatric emergency department and dedicated inpatient unit outside of downtown Nashville.
For families across the region, that proximity means everything. As Middle Tennessee’s population boom continues — with a projected 300,000 people expected to move to the area over the next decade — the demand for accessible, specialized pediatric care has never been greater.
“We are proud to partner with Williamson Health to provide high-quality, pediatrics-focused care for our community,” said Jane Freedman, MD, Deputy CEO and Chief Health System Officer for VUMC. “This partnership provides comfort and peace of mind for families, knowing there is expertise dedicated specifically to their children close to home.”
Beyond Convenience: Why Pediatric-Focused Care Matters
The impact extends far beyond geography.
Erin Soto, MSN, RN, NE-BC, director of Pediatric Services at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital Vanderbilt at Williamson Medical Center, explains pediatric-focused care fundamentally differs from adult emergency medicine.
“We treat the family as a whole. We hear the parents’ side of the story,” she says. “The environment is less stressful overall because we interact with children every day.”
This specialized approach shows in countless ways. For example, child life specialists help reduce children’s anxiety and offer comfort about being in the ED or hospital, and the staff is trained in pediatric-specific protocols and knows that making a teddy bear dance might distract a 4-year-old in pain — while the same approach is not standard protocol for adult patients.
The staff knows simple things like a teddy bear dance or playing video games on an iPad can be a much-needed distraction, Soto said.
The facility has grown significantly since opening, with pediatric volume steadily increasing as word spreads about the emergency department and inpatient care that offers Vanderbilt’s clinical pediatric expertise combined with Williamson Health’s community accessibility, said Soto, who oversees both services.
“We can see and triage anything and treat most things,” Soto said. The ED has close partnerships with local EMS teams who understand which cases can be managed locally versus those requiring a trip up I-65.
The result, she said, is that more children receive appropriate care close to home, while truly complex cases still reach specialized care in Nashville when needed.
Growing with the Community
The seasonal patterns mirror those of larger pediatric facilities — more patients in winter but more injuries in summer, Soto said.
This growth reflects broader trends across Vanderbilt Health’s regional network, which now includes seven hospitals and more than 180 clinics. From 2020 to 2024, care at regional centers has grown even faster than in Davidson County, Freedman said, reflecting both people’s desire for care close to home and the health system’s strategic mission to improve care in communities.
For the Rosses, the partnership has created lasting connections. Brittany Ross now works at Williamson Medical Center herself, accepting a nursing position exactly one year after her daughter’s discharge — a testament to the care her family received.
Ross wanted to work there, even though it’s an hour drive from home, because of the caring connection and the roots that come with serving a community. Having comprehensive pediatric emergency and inpatient expertise within reach provides peace of mind to parents, she said.
In her own experience, the proximity meant Jaycey’s siblings and grandparents could visit — and that Jaycey could be a part of the family’s day-to-day life even when she was too sick and tired to talk to or interact with her brother and sisters, Ross said.
Jaycey’s hospital experience comes up in some way almost every day. Jaycey’s younger brother recently recounted how her discharge was one of the happiest days of his life, Ross said.
For Jaycey, it’s a pivotal point in her young life that continues to shape her perspective. Not long after she was discharged, Jaycey told her mom that she wanted to send a thank you card to Nurse Linda, who had been a comforting presence during her admission and even taught her how to swallow a pill.
When Soto recalls the card, she gets tears in her eyes.
“The card was so sweet. It talked about ‘how people don’t recognize when they pass by hospitals that there are people saving lives at all times.’ And oh, it just brought chills to her — and to all of us! It was so sweet,” said Soto.
