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Angela Jefferson, PhD, is the founding director of the Vanderbilt Memory and Alzheimer’s Center, VUMC’s newest freestanding institutional center.
October 1, 2020

VUMC forms center focused on Alzheimer’s and related dementias

Leaders at Vanderbilt University Medical Center have announced that the Vanderbilt Memory and Alzheimer’s Center (VMAC), currently housed in the Department of Neurology, will become a freestanding institutional center.

By Paul Govern
Kate Sessler, RN, left, and Caroline Gardner, RN, were among those who spoke at a recent Bedside Matters presentation about what it’s like to take care of patients seriously ill with COVID-19.
October 1, 2020

Caregivers discuss impacts of treating COVID-19 patients

Taking care of patients critically ill with COVID-19 takes an emotional and physical toll on health care providers who say many of these patients are among the sickest they’ve ever encountered.

By Nancy Humphrey
VUMC’s REDCap team helped the Washington State Department of Health ramp up its COVID-19 drive-through testing capabilities. Above, testing is performed in Everett, Washington, in March.
September 24, 2020

REDCap helps state of Washington scale up its testing capacity

Until it was eclipsed by New York in mid-April, the state of Washington had the highest absolute number of COVID-19 cases in the United States.

By Bill Snyder
A VUMC study found that following up with patients within the week after their hospital discharge as a stand-alone intervention has no impact on readmissions, mortality or patient satisfaction.
September 24, 2020

Follow-up calls don’t impact readmission, mortality rates: study

Following up with adult general medicine patients by phone within the week after their hospital discharge as a stand-alone intervention has no impact on readmissions, mortality or patient satisfaction, according to a new study by Vanderbilt University Medical Center researchers.

By Kelsey Herbers
William “Bill” Stead, MD, is stepping down from his role as Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s Chief Strategy Officer.
September 17, 2020

Stead to step down from Chief Strategy Officer role after decades of remarkable contributions

Visionary — someone who thinks about the future or advancements in a creative and imaginative way, a person who is ahead of her or his time and who has a powerful plan for change in the future. Such a person is William “Bill” Stead, MD, Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s Chief Strategy Officer, McKesson Foundation Professor of Biomedical Informatics and Professor of Medicine.

By John Howser
September 17, 2020

Center for Genetic Privacy lands major grant renewal

The National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) has awarded a four-year, $4 million grant renewal to Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s Center for Genetic Privacy and Identity in Community Settings (GetPreCiSe).

By Paul Govern
September 10, 2020

Technique helped treat patient’s rare pulmonary disorder

Sourav Panja, PhD, a postdoctoral scholar in the Department of Pediatrics at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, was working in his lab one evening last year when he began coughing up blood. Even breathing was becoming difficult.
By Matt Batcheldor
September 10, 2020

Medical residents help craft national leave policy

The American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS), which oversees physician certification in the United States, announced the adoption of a “progressive leave policy that will offer residents and fellows more flexibility, reduce stress and increase autonomy in making life decisions, especially with regard to family and parental leave.”
By Kathy Whitney
September 10, 2020

Global recommendations for cochlear implants outlined

More than 432 million adults across the globe live with a disabling hearing loss, but of those who are candidates for cochlear implants, only 4-5% receive one.
By Kelsey Herbers
September 9, 2020

AED training plays key role in reviving young athlete

A one-hour training session helped give Taylor Frost, 16, a lifetime of possibilities. On Aug. 12, Frost, a member of the Jonathan Edwards Classical Academy cross country team, collapsed. Within minutes his coach and other responders from the Nashville school went into action.
By Jessica Pasley
September 2, 2020

VUMC launches clinical trial of outpatient treatments for COVID-19

Vanderbilt University Medical Center is now enrolling volunteers for a clinical trial of promising treatments for COVID-19 in the outpatient setting.
By Leigh MacMillan
August 27, 2020

Vanderbilt-Ingram opens cancer center in Wilson County

Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center at Wilson County is slated to open Aug. 31 with a full array of highly specialized services, including diagnostic assessments, medical oncology and radiation oncology.
By Tom Wilemon
August 24, 2020

Event continues VUMC tradition of providing free hand surgeries

For the fourth straight year, VUMC surgeons, anesthesiologists, nurses and support staff provided free surgeries for underinsured individuals with chronic upper extremity conditions such as carpel tunnel syndrome and cysts.
By Jill Clendening