Janet Cross
Cross to head VCH Family Resource Center
Janet Cross has been named director of the Junior League Family Resource Center. Cross will maintain her current directorship of Child Life Services for Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital in addition to taking the helm at the Family Resource Center in the new Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital.
“I’m very excited about the collaborative possibilities,” Cross said. “Child Life Services works to educate children through play, and while we’re working so closely with the family, we see adult family members who need the services of the family resource center. I hope that one of the positive aspects of this change will be that psychosocial and educational care and support will appear to be more seamless to families.”
Vanderbilt Children’s CEO Jim Shmerling said during Cross’s tenure at Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital, she developed one of the finest Child Life departments in the country. The program weaves educational play into many of the day-to-day interactions with children while they receive care at Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital.
“I believe both programs will benefit from a closer collaboration,” said Shmerling. “As the director of Child Life, Janet is well known all over Vanderbilt Children’s for her special talents in meeting the needs of our families. The Family Resource Center meets similar needs in education for our patients and families, so Janet is a natural choice.”
Cross has been with Vanderbilt since 1982 and has been director of the Child Life Department since 1993. She has her master’s degree in Child Development, Psychology and Human Development from Peabody College.