Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt

C. difficile bacteria (image courtesy of CDC/Jennifer Oosthuizen)

February 10, 2026

Vanderbilt research offers new hope for preventing repeated ‘C. diff’ infections

Unfortunately, treatment options for the estimated 20,000 children — and the more than 500,000 adults — who are diagnosed annually with C. diff infections are not much better today than they were in 2014.

By Bill Snyder

February 5, 2026

DAISY Award spotlight: ‘We are so grateful for her sweet heart and the love she had for our daughter.’

Alaina Curry, BSN, RN, works in the Pediatric Intensive Care unit at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt. She is one of the latest Vanderbilt Health DAISY Award winners.

By Kylie Avery

February 2, 2026

Pom-poms for a new era: Briceton Latta’s next cystic fibrosis chapter

When Briceton Latta was born in 2006, the average life expectancy of a patient with CF was 37. Today, that expectancy is 65 and beyond.

By Christina Echegaray

January 29, 2026

Annalesa Sackey blazes a trail as the first pediatric burn advanced practice provider at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt

“Burn found me — I didn’t really find it. It popped up in my life; I flew with it; and I don’t want to go back,” says the Credo Award winner.

By Danny Bonvissuto

January 26, 2026

Carbon monoxide risks increase during frigid temps; safety tips for home and on the road

More than 20 patients were treated for carbon monoxide poisoning in 24 hours early in the week when power began going out. Emergency physicians anticipate additional cases as temperatures are not expected to reach above freezing this week.

By Jessica Pasley

Lili Tao, MD, PhD, medical director of Mycology and Immunoserology, shows Maggie Weiss a culture plate on which the fungus that causes histoplasmosis is growing. (photo by Susan Urmy)

January 22, 2026

A grateful patient says ‘thank you’ to Vanderbilt Medical Laboratories

The infection can result from inhaling spores of the fungus Histoplasma capsulatum, which grows in soil throughout Middle Tennessee, especially in soil contaminated with bird or bat droppings. Previously, blood samples had to be sent to a reference lab in Utah.