Associate Professor of Nursing Kate Payne, JD, RN, NC-BC, a bioethicist, attorney and beloved nurse leader at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Vanderbilt University School of Nursing, died at the Alive Hospice Residence on Jan. 6 after a very brief and unexpected illness.

The rate of mothers who had an opioid-related diagnosis when delivering their baby increased by 131% from 2010-2017, as the incidence of babies diagnosed with drug withdrawal, known as neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS), increased by 82% nationally during that same time period.

Vanderbilt University Medical Center performed more heart transplants in 2020 than any other center in the world — 124 adult hearts, 23 pediatric hearts and VUMC’s first heart-lung transplant since 2006.

Larry (Taylor) Davis, MD, assistant professor of Radiology and Neurology, has been named section chief of Neuroradiology.

COVID-19 patients admitted to intensive care in the early months of the pandemic were subject to a significantly higher burden of delirium and coma than is typically found in patients with acute respiratory failure. Choice of sedative medications and curbs on family visitation played a role in increasing acute brain dysfunction for these patients.