Entrepreneur, philanthropist and civic leader Tom Golisano. Provided photo.
Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt received a transformative $40 million gift from entrepreneur, philanthropist, and civic leader Tom Golisano. In recognition of Mr. Golisano’s generosity, the hospital’s nationally ranked heart care and surgery program will be renamed the Golisano Pediatric Heart Institute.
Monroe Carell is among six hospitals joining the Golisano Children’s Alliance in this latest round of additions, bringing the network to 21 pediatric hospitals nationwide. The Alliance is a growing national network of children’s hospitals united by a shared commitment to improving pediatric health care delivery, advancing innovation and ensuring children and families have access to high-quality, compassionate care close to home.
As part of the gift, Monroe Carell will help establish a consortium dedicated to pediatric heart care across Alliance hospitals.
“We are incredibly fortunate to receive Mr. Golisano’s transformational support. This generous gift will allow the Heart Institute to develop exciting new treatments for complex children’s heart conditions while establishing an innovative and one-of-a kind framework to share advances in pediatric cardiac care across the Golisano Children’s Alliance,” said Jeff Balser, MD, PhD, President and CEO of Vanderbilt Health and Dean of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.
“My hope is that no family, no matter where they live or what they can afford, has to travel far or wonder if their child will get the best care available,” Golisano said. “We look forward to the innovations and collaborations from the Golisano Pediatric Heart Institute at Monroe Carell that will advance pediatric cardiac care and expand access to specialized services for children and families.”
Monroe Carell is home to one of the nation’s earliest congenital heart disease and pediatric heart transplant programs. Co-led by Carlos Mery, MD, MPH, Chief of the Division of Pediatric Cardiac Surgery and holder of the Monroe Carell Jr. Chair, and Larry Markham, MD, Chief of the Division of Pediatric Cardiology and holder of the Katrina Overall McDonald Chair in Pediatrics, the nationally recognized Pediatric Heart Institute has one of the country’s largest pediatric heart transplant programs and among the largest electrophysiology and interventional cardiology programs.
Its team provides highly specialized care for the full spectrum of heart disease, serving more than 20,000 children each year through 10 satellite clinics across Tennessee and partnering with Vanderbilt Health adult heart teams to ensure continuity of care from fetal diagnosis through adulthood. Each year, the pediatric team performs more than 500 cardiac surgeries, and in fiscal year 2026, performed 19 heart transplants.
“This transformational gift represents a defining moment for our Pediatric Heart Institute,” Mery and Markham said collectively. “It will empower our team to create a unique model of collaboration across the pediatric cardiac programs in the Golisano Children’s Alliance, accelerate lifesaving innovations in pediatric cardiac transplantation, and advance groundbreaking discoveries that improve lifelong outcomes for individuals living with congenital heart disease. Its impact will be felt by children and families for generations, shaping the future of collaboration in pediatric cardiac care for years to come.”
The newly established pediatric heart consortium will create an integrated framework for clinical learning, research and data sharing across the Golisano Children’s Alliance hospitals. This coordinated approach will help build a sustainable foundation to address complex cardiac conditions and accelerate the adoption of evidence-based care, while advancing pediatric cardiac medicine and supporting patients throughout every stage of their care journey.
“On behalf of our Monroe Carell hospital and clinic teams, we are profoundly grateful to Tom Golisano for his remarkable generosity and unwavering commitment to improving the lives of children and families,” said Jamie Phillips, MHA, FACHE, President of Monroe Carell. “The mission of the Golisano Children’s Alliance aligns closely with our dedication to ensuring every child has access to exceptional care, and every family feels supported throughout their child’s health journey. Monroe Carell will serve as the central convener and trusted partner of choice for this cardiac alliance, working hand in hand with Alliance hospitals to expand access to advanced pediatric heart care while strengthening the compassionate, family-centered care that defines our program.”
Through the Golisano Children’s Alliance, Monroe Carell will help build a powerful national network of pediatric heart programs — uniting clinical expertise, research, innovation and education to accelerate breakthroughs and transform the future of cardiovascular care for children.
“Tom Golisano’s extraordinary generosity gives us an opportunity to think boldly about what is possible for children with heart disease,” said Juan C. Salazar, MD, MPH, Monroe Carell System Pediatrician-in-Chief, Chair of the Department of Pediatrics and holder of the James C. Overall Chair in Pediatrics. “By bringing leading pediatric heart programs together through the Golisano Children’s Alliance, we can accomplish far more together than any one institution can achieve alone. We can accelerate discovery, share expertise and innovation across institutions, develop the next generation of leaders, and bring lifesaving advances to children more rapidly. Our shared vision is to create a new national model for pediatric heart care — one in which collaboration eliminates boundaries; innovation moves faster; and every child has the opportunity for a healthier future.”
