Advanced practice nurses, physician assistants and hospital leaders from around Vanderbilt University Medical Center gathered over Zoom on Jan. 19 for the kickoff of Advanced Practice Grand Rounds, the monthly educational series organized by the Office of Advanced Practice.

Pam Everett-Smith celebrated a milestone this past November — 30 years since she received a lung transplant at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. She is the longest-surviving single-lung transplant patient known in the United States.

When a patient receives a new heart at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, that person also gains a new family, so to speak — the heart transplant team. Among the patient’s biggest advocates and supporters on that team is his or her post-transplant coordinator.

Emily Sandhaus’ phone rings in the middle of the night. The voice on the other end tells her a donor heart is available, and it’s in El Paso, Texas. She should pack a bag and report to the Emergency Department at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. A car will take her team to Nashville International Airport, where they will board a charter plane to recover, preserve and transport the heart back to VUMC for transplant.

Several Vanderbilt nurses have been elected to leadership of the Tennessee Nurses Association (TNA), including president and vice president.

The Vanderbilt Transplant Center (VTC) established a new record in 2020 for total solid organ transplants, performing 611 life-saving procedures among its adult and pediatric organ transplant programs.