Jill Clendening

Surgeons have limited tools to successfully repair and track the recovery of peripheral nerves that have been severely damaged as a result of a traumatic injury, but Vanderbilt investigators hope to change this through research studies recently funded with more than $3 million in grants from the Department of Defense and the National Institutes of Health.

Following trips to two different hospital emergency rooms, 24-year-old Geoffrey Slayden was raced by ambulance to Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) for surgery and a week of hospitalization, including several days in intensive care on a ventilator and feeding tube. The culprit: abscessed teeth.

Getting to a patient’s room or finding the right clinic for an appointment can be stressful, but Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) leaders believe a mobile app, called WalkWays, as well as a texting tool that provide easily understood, visual directions will help everyone find their way.

James O’Neill, M.D., professor of Surgery and former chair of the Section of Surgical Sciences at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC), has received an International Surgical Volunteerism Award from the American College of Surgeons (ACS) for more than three decades of service as a surgeon and educator in medically underserved countries.

Thirty percent less blood was transfused and more than $2 million was saved over a three-year period through changes in how blood is ordered, transported and stored at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC).

Just as pilots and members of the military go through boot camp and simulation exercises early in their training so they are prepared to respond in real-life situations, first-year cardiothoracic fellows at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) recently experienced their own specially designed boot camp centered around a new high-fidelity simulator that realistically re-recreates cardiac procedures so they are better prepared for the operating room.