As a nurse on the surgical intensive care unit at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Heather Hart, R.N., BSN, has a rare opportunity to witness the circle of life.

Twenty-month old Luke Reaves pushed a pig-shaped wooden toy off his hospital bed, then waited to hear the “smack” as it hit the hard floor below.

Executives from Sumner Regional Medical Center (SRMC) and Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) announced this week that the hospitals have finalized an affiliation agreement that will enhance access to health care services for the residents of Sumner County and the surrounding region.

Vanderbilt University Medical Center has been selected as one of three sites to share a three-year, $1.3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to explore the potential therapeutic properties of manganese, a chemical element and biologically essential trace mineral, in treating Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS).

A new digital scanner for teeth is allowing Vanderbilt Orthodontic patients of all ages to have dental impressions for procedures such as Invisalign — clear removable teeth aligners similar to braces — created without the gagging or bad taste that accompanies traditional methods.

More than 15 million women in the United States are impacted by stress urinary incontinence (SUI) at a cost of nearly $20 billion a year to treat.

Smooth muscle cells that line the aorta differ in development but not in the adult, a finding that has implications for understanding aortic development and disease.