Vanderbilt WC Hospital

Guest Article:

Vanderbilt Wilson County Hospital

Dr. Adam Huggins is an Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. In addition to his clinical work, he also serves as Associate Chief Medical Officer for Vanderbilt Wilson and Sumner Counties. He was born and raised in Birmingham Alabama, received his undergraduate degree from Wake Forest University, and completed medical school at University of Alabama Birmingham. Dr. Huggins did his residency training in OBGYN at Virginia Commonwealth University. After graduation from residency, he worked in private practice in Nashville for 4 years before joining the faculty at VUMC. Dr. Huggins also completed his Masters in Management of Healthcare in 2016 from Vanderbilt Owen School of Management. He is married with two young children, and in his free time enjoys playing ice hockey, skiing, and fly fishing.

Traci Pope is the Director of Community Relations at Vanderbilt Wilson County Hospital. She joined the hospital in 2015, with over 15 years’ experience in the health care field. Traci is a graduate of Lipscomb University and is currently completing a Master of Management in Healthcare (MMHC) from Vanderbilt Owen School of Management. She is very involved in the community, the current chair elect for Leadership Wilson, class of 2017; Board Member for the Mt. Juliet Chamber of Commerce; Rotarian with the Mt. Juliet Noon Rotary Club; Board Member for Wilson Rides Inc.; a member of the Wilson County Health Council and Wilson ONE. She is married with two children, and in her free time enjoys reading, snow skiing and exercising.

Vanderbilt Wilson County Hospital (VWCH) is a two-campus healthcare facility licensed for 245 beds. It was purchased by Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) in August 2019 from Community Health Systems, Inc. The facility has an adult acute care hospital as well as a separate inpatient physical rehab and inpatient psychiatric hospital, both located in Lebanon, Tennessee. The acquisition of VWCH reflects the strong commitment VUMC has to the citizens of Wilson County and strategically places Vanderbilt as the dominant provider of health care services in one of Metro Nashville’s fastest growing bedroom communities.

Meeting WC’s Healthcare Needs

As the only full-service hospital in Wilson County, VWCH is uniquely positioned to meet the healthcare needs of the county and over 150,000 residents. Since the acquisition in 2019, with the full support of VUMC, the hospital has added significant resources ranging from new medical services, new alliances and partnerships, and significant capital investment. New or augmented medical services that have been added over the past eighteen months include: Anesthesia, Ophthalmology, Bariatric Surgery, Gastroenterology, OB/GYN, Tele-Neurology, Psychiatry, Physical Medicine and Rehab, Emergency Medicine, Hospitalist Internal Medicine, Critical Care, Radiation and Medical Oncology, Plastic Surgery, Urology, and Pediatrics. Overall, more than 140 providers have been added to the medical staff roster. Existing emergency services have also been augmented by enhancing the relationship with existing EMS services in Wilson County and by adding Vanderbilt LifeFlight ambulances at VWCH. This means VWCH is now able to care for more patients with a wider range of medical diagnoses than ever before.

Vanderbilt Wilson County Hospital

WC’s Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center One particular service line addition that VWCH is particularly proud of is the opening of the VanderbiltIngram Cancer Center (VICC) at Wilson County. VICC is one of only 51 Comprehensive Cancer Centers in the country. This Cancer Center is home to both medical and radiation oncology services. Patients are able to receive treatment from Vanderbilt Oncology providers, receive chemotherapy infusions onsite, and receive radiation therapy as well. The VICC at Wilson County utilizes state of the art equipment to deliver radiation treatment using the Ethos Radiotherapy System. VWCH is one of only four centers in the country with this technology, allowing providers to uniquely adapt treatment plans to individual patients.

“Transitioning to Vanderbilt’s Emergency Medicine Department reflects Vanderbilt’s strong commitment to the citizens of Wilson County to continue providing outstanding care to patients and families throughout the region,” said R. Scott Frankenfield, MD, director of VWCH Emergency Services (pictured in the middle of photo below). “Vanderbilt Emergency Medicine is one of the most nationallyrenowned emergency departments. The community will receive that same top-notch care without having to leave Wilson County. I am honored to lead the Emergency Medicine team at VWCH.”

VWCH Telehealth Services

Another innovative way in which VWCH is bringing additional services to Wilson County is through telehealth. Shortly after the acquisition of the hospital, Vanderbilt Neurology began offering telemedicine consults to patients in the Emergency Department and those in the hospital. So now patients with diseases such as stroke, seizure disorders, and others can often be cared for here without being transferred downtown. Our telemedicine services have now been augmented by other specialties such as: Infectious Disease, Emergency Psychiatry, Nursery, and Pediatric ED. The Pediatric ED teleconsults are particularly noteworthy as they can potentially save a family a trip to the Monroe Carroll Junior Children’s Hospital for further evaluation of a condition that can be managed locally safely. All of these services enable VWCH to provide ever more complicated and comprehensive care in a high-quality way in a local setting.

Recent Capital Investments In addition to adding providers to the medical staff, VWCH has made significant investments in its underlying infrastructure. Laboratory equipment has been replaced and upgraded, the pharmacy’s services have been expanded, and an entirely new electronic medical record system was successfully installed in April 2020. Radiology services have also received significant upgrades, including a new 3D mammography machine as well as a new MRI and newly designed MRI suite. The operating suites have also received significant capital investments. These include operative equipment such as 4K video towers for laparoscopic surgery, other surgical instrumentation, and the installation of two new sterilizers allowing VWCH to more efficiently process instruments to care for more patients. Other upgrades to the grounds include new interior and exterior paint as well as enhancements to the parking lots at both of the hospital’s campuses.

VWCH and Covid-19

Since the acquisition of VWCH, the hospital has also played a key role in the fight against COVID-19. Shortly after the pandemic started, VWCH opened a 17 bed COVID Unit that could be occupied by up to 34 COVID patients. In addition, ICU Critical Care and Medicine providers cared for critically ill patients in the ICU and the newly opened 12 bed Stepdown Unit. VUMC has been widely recognized as a leader in the treatment of COVID-19, ranging from research on treatment therapies to vaccines. This has enabled VWCH to be able to provide the latest and most effective therapies to the people of Wilson County. In particular, VWCH has been able to provide COVID19 monoclonal antibody infusion as an early treatment for COVID-19, which has been shown to significantly reduce the need for hospitalization. More recently, VWCH has played a key role in the vaccination of providers and patients against COVID-19. VWCH was able to vaccinate not only its own staff, but also many of the community providers and their staff. Now VWCH is working with the Wilson County Health Department to begin the vaccination process for the general public. Within just weeks, VWCH was able to provide vaccinations to over 2500 members of the public, and is in position to continue providing that service for months to come.

Future Plans

Despite all of the accomplishments thus far, VWCH is continuing to focus on future growth. There are plans for additional medical services, new designations, expanded critical care capacity, and more infrastructure improvements. With the support and expertise from Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Vanderbilt Wilson County Hospital is positioned to continue to lead the healthcare industry in Wilson County through the highest quality personalized medicine for which Vanderbilt Health is known.