Nonprofit health entity Vanderbilt University Medical Center became fully independent from the university following completion of the legal agreement signed on April 30, 2016
President and CEO of Vanderbilt University Medical Center CEO Jeff Balser, MD, PhD, sees a bright future for the nonprofit health system after its split from the university. Dr. Balser, who also serves as dean of the VUMC, says the newfound dexterity will help the medical center accomplish an "exceedingly bright" future.
Dr. Balser believes the independence will give the Nashville, Tennessee-based organization more efficiency and ability to answer to reforms in the healthcare industry without having to include the administrative processes needed by the university during the approval process. He said the governing body with its 11-person board will "allow it to flourish in a totally different set of economic pressures than a university lives in.”
“While we are now optimally positioned for the future of health care delivery, we have taken care to assure VUMC will remain seamlessly connected to Vanderbilt University in fundamental ways, including a vast array of educational and research programs aimed at training the leaders of the future and driving innovation through discovery science,” Dr. Balser adds.
VUMC, with its approximately 20,000 employees, employs largest number of personnel in Tennessee after the state government. And the number of employees may multiply as the organization plans to widen its research and educational programs.
Clinicians at VUMC are still part of the medical school’s faculty and its name will not change, according to Tennessean report.
"We want to continue to be a really important component of the state’s economy and the city’s economy," said Balser. "We want to continue to help build Nashville."
