A Place for Healing

Nearly six years ago, Will Terry defied the odds. A kick-scooter accident during a family vacation in Florida left him with severe brain bleeding.  

Unconscious and intubated, he was flown by a fixed wing air ambulance back home to Nashville, where a dedicated neurocritical care team at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt fought to save his life.  

Will, who was 9 years old at the time, spent 21 days in the critical care unit, intubated for most of that time, and once awake, another 15 days in a step-down unit. He had survived a severe traumatic brain injury, but his recovery journey was far from over. He needed intensive pediatric inpatient rehabilitation. There was just one problem: Nashville, and even the entire state of Tennessee, had no dedicated pediatric rehabilitation unit or facility. The closest option was hundreds of miles away in Atlanta.  

Currently, children in Tennessee must travel out of state, hours away from home, to receive the intensive inpatient rehabilitation care they need, often creating significant hardships and burdens on families.  

Soon that will change. Monroe Carell leaders announced in July 2025 plans to create Tennessee’s first inpatient pediatric rehabilitation unit to keep children closer to home while recovering from life-altering illnesses or injuries. 

“Monroe Carell and Vanderbilt Health have really incredible resources here, including comprehensive medical care and a great therapy and rehabilitation team,” said Elizabeth Martin, MD, MPH, MHS, medical director of Pediatric Rehabilitation and assistant professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. “But by not having a dedicated physical unit and all the specialized support that it provides, we have a significant gap in the higher acuity rehabilitation care that our children in Tennessee need. So, to finally be able to fill that gap and really show the full potential of all that Monroe Carell can offer as children are healing through the rehabilitation process is really exciting.” 

The announcement about the pediatric inpatient rehabilitation unit is welcome news to Catherine Terry, Will’s mom. 

“When we first heard the announcement, I felt overwhelming gratitude. What once felt like a painful gap in our state’s care is now becoming a reality for other families,” Catherine Terry said. “No parent should have to choose between being present for their child and holding their family together at home. My hope is that this unit becomes a place not just of physical healing, but of dignity and hope — where every child has access to the care they need, regardless of circumstance.” 

Inspired by their family’s own journey, the Terrys helped raise awareness in the community about the need for these services close to home. 

“I often think about how fortunate we were to be able to go to Atlanta at all,” Catherine Terry said. “I cannot stand to think of having to make the decision to not go because of affordability or the inability to keep working and care for a child. That has been our reason for helping to create an inpatient rehabilitation facility for children at Monroe Carell. No parent should have to make that decision, and a child’s long-term success should not depend on a parent’s financial resources or ability to work remotely.” 

Looking back, Catherine Terry says having inpatient pediatric rehabilitation services close to home would have made all the difference.  

“It would have meant that our family did not have to uproot our entire lives to make this work,” she said. “Will and his siblings would have been in a familiar setting surrounded by people who know and love them. It would have been less of a financial and mental health burden on all of us.” 

Filling a critical gap 

At Monroe Carell, at least one child is waiting to go out of state for inpatient rehabilitation daily, and annually, there are more than 100.  

Given current barriers, roughly half of patients recommended to receive inpatient rehabilitation are able to get these vital services, and most who do receive services are over 13 years old. For patients who are able to receive inpatient care, 80% of them must travel out of state, and 20% are old enough to have inpatient care at an adult facility. 

The new inpatient pediatric rehabilitation unit and program — the first and only in Tennessee for children 13 and younger — will be housed on the eighth floor of Monroe Carell, which will be named in honor of Kathryn Carell Brown. Brown, a Monroe Carell Advisory Board member, is the daughter of the hospital’s namesake, Monroe Carell Jr., and his wife, Ann Scott Carell. 

Design plans for the unit are underway, with construction estimated to begin fall 2026; the work is expected to take about a year.  

The unit is expected to include: 12 patient rooms; a gym and spaces for activities of daily living for patients; and physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy and psychological support services all within one dedicated space. 

The unit will have the latest equipment and advancements to provide the comprehensive care needed, as well as therapeutic wraparound services and supports like psychologists, occupational therapists, physical therapists, speech therapists, child life specialists, facility dogs, nutrition services, music therapy and school programming. 

Physical rehabilitation, a crucial part of the healing process, helps restore lost skills, like walking and eating, and can make all the difference in a child’s recovery and potential to live a full life. Rehabilitation can last weeks or even months. 

The new pediatric rehabilitation unit will allow for continuity of care, with many children like Will continuing on to Monroe Carell’s outpatient pediatric rehabilitation.  

Will still works with his outpatient physical therapists, and when he’s not, he loves animals — especially elephants — and wrestling, Catherine Terry said. 

“His strength, coordination and confidence have grown tremendously over the past few years,” she said. “His recovery has been steady, and his perseverance has been extraordinary, but what stands out most is his joy and determination. He truly embodies what recovery can look like when a child is given the right support.” 

Pediatric inpatient rehabilitation can be needed after a child has suffered a severe illness or trauma that impacts activities of daily living and requires more intensive therapies and support to regain lost functions or abilities. 

Michael Wolf, MD’12, director of Neurocritical Care in the Division of Critical Care Medicine at Monroe Carell, sees firsthand the challenges faced by children with traumatic brain injury who require intensive pediatric inpatient rehabilitation after hospitalization.  

He calls the upcoming inpatient rehabilitation unit at Monroe Carell “a huge win.” 

“This is a game changer for our patients and for children all across Tennessee,” Wolf said. “In critical care, our first priority is helping children survive the most life-threatening injuries. As they begin to turn the corner, the focus shifts to recovery. What makes inpatient rehabilitation so meaningful is that recovery can begin immediately, without families having to uproot their lives or leave the hospital and teams they have come to trust. By bringing neurocritical care and inpatient rehabilitation under one roof, we can maintain continuity and give children the strongest possible path toward long-term recovery.” 

A community unites  

To make the vision for a pediatric inpatient rehabilitation unit a reality, a campaign cabinet led the effort to raise awareness for the need and to garner philanthropic support for the project. The cabinet members are Kathryn Carell Brown, Shelly and Jeff Colvin, Allison DeMarcus, Larisa Featherstone, Caren Gabriel, Tracey and Sean Henry, and Michelle Kennedy. 

The unit will be made possible because of the support of many generous individuals, families and businesses in the community — including the Carell family, Cal Turner Jr., Walmart, Mariel and Bucky Ingram, Joe Galante and the Junior League of Nashville. 

While gifts to launch construction have been secured, additional philanthropy will support programming and staffing in the unit. 

For cabinet members Shelly and Jeff Colvin, the need for the pediatric inpatient rehabilitation unit was personal. 

During a storm in 2020, a 75-foot oak tree fell on Jeff and their then 3-year-old son, Judge Colvin. Both required lifesaving intensive care followed by inpatient rehabilitation. 

Judge was routed to Monroe Carell, as he was in a coma and had suffered a traumatic brain injury. At the same time, Jeff was in an intensive care unit at Vanderbilt University Hospital with multiple injuries, including a broken back. 

When Judge woke from his coma, he needed inpatient rehabilitation, which meant moving to Atlanta, since no pediatric inpatient rehabilitation services exist in Tennessee. 

“As campaign cabinet members, it fills Jeff and me with such encouragement and pride to see how Nashvillians and Tennesseans statewide have stepped up to help make this rehab unit a reality,” Shelly Colvin said. “It’s been incredibly inspiring to sit with other members of the campaign cabinet and brainstorm different ways to get the word out to our respective networks and witness how everyone truly came through, from our music community and corporate donors to private citizens. People truly wanted to help and understood that it was just the right thing to do for our kids.” 

Inspired to advance this effort even further, the Colvins also established a nonprofit, the Out of the Woods Foundation, and made a philanthropic gift to the campaign to help more children like Judge. 

Judge, now 9, is thriving. 

“Judge’s recovery has been remarkable, and we want every child to have that same chance,” Shelly Colvin said. “Our Out of the Woods Fund is committed to providing ongoing support for inpatient rehab, which feels like the most meaningful way to give back to the community that swiftly came to our aid in our time of need.” 

This inpatient rehabilitation project will help children across the state and has the support of the Children’s Hospital Alliance of Tennessee, which includes Monroe Carell, East Tennessee Children’s Hospital, Children’s Hospital at Erlanger, Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital and Niswonger Children’s Hospital.