TENNESSEE HEALTH CARE HALL OF FAME NOMINEE ANDRE CHURCHWELL

A native of East Nashville, Dr. André Churchwell’s contributions stretch far beyond the Volunteer State’s borders. An accomplished physician, advocate, mentor, educator and artist, he has devoted his life and decades-long career to championing equity and access for all by breaking down barriers: in the clinic, the classroom and the community. Dr. Churchwell has been nationally recognized for his contributions to engineering, medicine and inclusivity.

Dr. Churchwell was among the first wave of children to attend school at newly integrated campuses in Nashville, Tenn., and the Civil Rights Era proved to be a defining childhood experience for him. In 1975, Dr. Churchwell graduated magna cum laude from the Vanderbilt School of Engineering, received his medical degree from Harvard Medical School in 1979 and broke through a racial barrier by becoming the first African American Chief Medical Resident at Grady Memorial Hospital from 1984-1985. He later completed his internship, residency and cardiology fellowship at Emory University School of Medicine, where he was named Most Outstanding House Officer.

In 1991, he returned to his hometown and alma mater when he joined the faculty at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, where he has been a professor in a variety of disciplines including medicine, radiology, biomedical engineering and cardiology. He additionally serves as Associate Clinical Professor, Department of Medicine – Cardiology at Meharry Medical College. Before stepping down to devote himself to his role as Vanderbilt University’s Vice Chancellor for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion and Chief Diversity Officer, he served for four decades as the Chief Diversity Officer for Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Senior Associate Dean for Diversity Affairs at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. In these roles, Dr. Churchwell has received numerous accolades and has advanced diversity and inclusion in the culture and climate of the Medical School and Medical Center.

Dr. Churchwell strives for inclusivity by meeting his patients’ needs through adaptive education. Health literacy is a known predictor of cardiovascular outcomes, and approximately 90 million Americans have limited health literacy and read at the fifth-grade level or lower. Dr. Churchwell was part of a team that sought to determine the suitability and readability level of common cardiovascular patient education materials (PEM) related to heart failure and a heart-healthy lifestyle.

Committed to service in a variety of spheres both locally and nationally, Dr. Churchwell: was elected to act as the southern representative for the Group on Diversity and Inclusion for the American Association of Medical Colleges (2012); has served on the Board of Trustees for Cumberland University (2015- present); teaches art classes for young students at the Robert Churchwell Museum Magnet Elementary School in Nashville.

All the while, he still practices medicine with his trademark excellence. For the last decade he has been named one of the nation's top cardiologists in “The Best Doctors in America” and from 2010-2013, he has been awarded the Professional Research Consultants’ Five-Star Excellence Award—Top 10% Nationally for “Excellent” Responses for Medical Specialty Services and Overall Quality. In 2014 he was named one of the Top 15 Most Influential African American Health Educators by Black Health Magazine. Perhaps most indicative of his caliber as a physician, he was voted the American Registry Most Compassionate Doctor Award by his peers.