Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Students interested in pursuing a degree in nursing from Vanderbilt, but who are concerned about financial obstacles, could get a big boost thanks to a grant from the Christy-Houston Foundation.

The newborn baby of a Fort Campbell soldier family has become the first to receive a new type of surgery at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children‘s Hospital at Vanderbilt.

Sten Vermund, M.D., Ph.D., has been named the first Amos Christie Chair in Global Health and director of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine‘s Institute for Global Health. He will assume the role effective July 1.

Childhood obesity in Tennessee is a growing concern. Research shows about 10 percent of children ages 2-5 and 15 percent of children ages 6-19 are obese, and the percentages have more than doubled in the last two decades. Experts at Vanderbilt say Tennessee‘s numbers match those national statistics.

A pediatrician at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children‘s Hospital at Vanderbilt has opened a clinic to help families tackle the problem of childhood obesity. Greg Plemmons, M.D., assistant professor of Pediatrics, opened the Weight Management Clinic in December 2004 and immediately had eight referrals.

Tennessee‘s TennCare Centers of Excellence (COE) for Children in State Custody has been recognized by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) as being one of the six most innovative programs in the country.

Thanks to a $250,000 grant from WTVF-NewsChannel 5, a reading program based at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children‘s Hospital at Vanderbilt will be able to put more books into the hands of toddlers, infants and preschoolers in Middle Tennessee.