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.

The most recent Credo Award and Five Pillar Leader Award winners were announced at this week’s Clinical Enterprise Leadership Assembly at Langford Auditorium.

Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s secure online patient portal, My Health at Vanderbilt (MHAV), is now even more accessible to patients with the launch of a new mobile app.

As a nurse working with critically ill patients with orders to not resuscitate, Rebecca Hixson, R.N., has often lingered in a patient’s room to complete her routine charting if she felt they were nearing death and no family or friends were around. But Hixson now hopes a new volunteer program at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) will mean these patients will always have someone by their side at the end of life.