Two physicians from Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt and the Vanderbilt Department of Pediatrics have received top honors from the Tennessee Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics (TNAAP) for their commitment to children.
Meg Rush, MD, MMHC, retired President of Monroe Carell, and Cristin Fritz, MD, MPH, will be honored Aug. 15 during the 2026 TNAAP Excellence in Pediatrics Annual Awards, which recognize pediatricians and community members who have made exceptional contributions to children’s health advocacy in Tennessee.
TNAAP is a statewide professional membership and child advocacy organization dedicated to the health, safety and well-being of infants, children and adolescents.
Rush will receive the award for Senior Pediatrician of the Year, and Fritz will be celebrated with the Pediatrician of the Year award.
“Drs. Meg Rush and Cristin Fritz represent the very best of our profession through their unwavering dedication to improving the lives of children in Tennessee and beyond,” said Juan C. Salazar, MD, MPH, Chair of the Department of Pediatrics, System Pediatrician-in-Chief and holder of the James C. Overall Chair. “These well-deserved honors recognize Dr. Rush’s decades of transformational leadership and advocacy and Dr. Fritz’s innovative work addressing the social factors that shape child health. Both have made a lasting impact on the children and families we serve.”
For more than four decades, until her retirement in December 2025, Rush dedicated her career to advancing children’s health care. A neonatologist, educator, mentor and health system leader, Rush has been a steadfast advocate for children and families in Tennessee and across the nation, championing high-quality, compassionate pediatric care.
Throughout her tenure, she helped lead the growth and expansion of Monroe Carell and its pediatric programs, while advancing key quality and safety initiatives that strengthened care for generations of patients. She has also been a respected national voice for children’s health, serving on the Children’s Hospital Association Board of Trustees and in other leadership roles that have helped shape pediatric care and advocacy nationwide.
“Caring for children is the mission of all pediatricians,” said Rush. “It has truly been an honor to work for over 40 years beside Tennessee’s pediatricians to both care and advocate for children and their unique health needs. I am grateful and humbled to receive this special award.”
Fritz, a pediatric hospital medicine physician at Monroe Carell, joined the faculty at Vanderbilt in 2020. Since arriving, she has focused on improving child health at the bedside and through population health initiatives.
A recognized leader in addressing food insecurity, Fritz has spearheaded hospital-wide screening and intervention programs, founded the Nutrition Security Task Force, and launched Champ’s Cupboard, a program that connects families with nutritious food and resources during and after hospitalization. In the first year of Champ’s Cupboard, the team distributed food assistance items to 235 families in the hospital, and 98% of recipients said the food was helpful. Fritz serves as medical director of the program.
Her research, advocacy and community partnerships have advanced efforts to address social conditions that influence health for children across Tennessee and nationally. Among her state and national extramural activities, Fritz is a member of the Tennessee Nutrition and Food Security Coalition, serves on the Second Harvest Food is Medicine Healthcare Co-Creation Task Force, and is a founding member of the Social Health Initiatives for Inpatient Environments focused on screening needs and resource connections.
“I am deeply grateful for the support of our leadership and community partners who have made it possible for us at Monroe Carell to serve as one part of the incredible network working to address food insecurity across Tennessee,” said Fritz. “Receiving this recognition is a tremendous honor, and it reinforces the importance of the work being done by so many colleagues and community advocates on behalf of children and families.”
