Jamie Phillips, MHA, President and System Chief Operating Officer of Seattle Children’s Hospital, has been named President of Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt. Phillips will join Monroe Carell and the senior leadership team of Vanderbilt University Medical Center on Jan. 1, 2026.
Phillips succeeds Monroe Carell’s current President, Meg Rush, MD, MMHC, who after 41 years of dedicated service to VUMC is retiring this year.
Phillips brings nearly 30 years of experience in health care administration to Monroe Carell, the past seven of which have been in a chief operating officer role. Prior to serving as president and system chief operating officer for Seattle Children’s, she served as the hospital’s senior vice president and COO.
With more than 585,000 clinic visits and 17,000 inpatient discharges each year, Monroe Carell is Tennessee’s premier pediatric quaternary care teaching hospital. Currently licensed for 363 beds, it is the region’s only full-service pediatric hospital with over 30 pediatric specialties. Monroe Carell houses the region’s only Level IV neonatal intensive care center and the only Level 1 pediatric trauma center and is a regional referral center for pediatric extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (treatment for heart and lung failure).
“Serving hundreds of thousands of children and families each year, Monroe Carell is a vital asset to communities throughout the region. To ensure the hospital’s ongoing success, we continue to invest in the very best people, programs and services to care for our most vulnerable patients,” said Jane Freedman, MD, Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Chief Health System Officer for VUMC. “Dr. Balser and I are delighted to welcome Jamie into the VUMC family. She joins us with considerable experience in pediatric health care operations. I look forward to her contributions as we plan for the future.
“I would also like to express my appreciation to Dr. Rush for her steadfast service across more than four decades at Vanderbilt. She is leaving Monroe Carell well positioned for continued growth.”
In 2024, Monroe Carell was named a Top Children’s Hospital by The Leapfrog Group. U.S. News & World Report ranked Monroe Carell as the No. 1 Pediatric Hospital in Tennessee, and it shared the No. 1 spot for the Southeast Region. Monroe Carell’s specialties that are nationally ranked by U.S. News include behavioral health, cancer, cardiology and heart surgery, diabetes and endocrinology, gastroenterology and GI surgery, neonatology, neurology and neurosurgery, orthopaedics, pulmonology and urology.
Monroe Carell opened in 2004, expanded its physical space in 2012, and in 2016 began construction to add four new floors encompassing 160,000 total square feet to the facility. The new expansion, completed in 2025, helps advance the size and scope of the hospital’s mission.
Before joining Seattle Children’s, Phillips served as chief operating officer and vice president of children’s services at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals in San Francisco and Oakland, California. In addition to her time at Benioff Children’s Hospitals, she served at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.
Phillips earned a Bachelor of Science from Ohio University and a Master of Health Administration from The Ohio State University. She is a fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives. She is also the recipient of numerous awards, including the Ohio Diversity and Leadership Multicultural Leadership Award and the YMCA Cincinnati Black Achiever Award. She has also been an adjunct professor for the Undergraduate Healthcare Management Program at Franklin University and an active board member of the Washington State Hospital Association.
“I am truly honored to join this remarkable team of professionals committed to providing compassionate care and advancing innovative research,” said Phillips. “I want to acknowledge the extraordinary leadership of Dr. Meg Rush, whose decades of service built a foundation of excellence and compassion. My goal is to carry this legacy forward while working alongside all of you to reimagine care, research and innovation for the children and families we serve.”
For over 30 years, Phillips has been married to her husband, Greg. They have two adult children, Brista and Cameron, and are now enjoying their empty-nester life with their French bulldog, Leo. When she’s not working, Phillips loves to run, hike and travel with family and friends, as well as take in the local art and music scenes.
