NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Luke Gregory, M Div, MBA, MHA died Friday after a battle with lymphona. He was the Chief Executive Officer and Senior Vice President for Business Development for Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt.
Gregory joined the Medical Center in 2007 as senior vice president and chief business development officer. In January 2011, he was named CEO of Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt.
Vanderbilt officials said he continually focused on serving the needs of children and families from throughout Tennessee and surrounding states.
“We are feeling a profound sense of loss over Luke’s passing at so many levels. He was an exemplary leader who served his colleagues, our patients and their families with great compassion. Personally, I’m extraordinarily grateful for the opportunity that I had to work alongside this exceptional man for the past 13 years and want to express my deepest sympathy to his wife, Susan, and their children,” said C. Wright Pinson, MBA, MD, Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Chief Health System Officer for Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
While Gregory was CEO, Children’s Hospital underwent critical expansions of inpatient space, including a 33,000-sq. ft. addition that added 33 beds in 2012. Also in 2012, the Doctor’s Office Tower, which houses Children’s Hospital’s outpatient clinics, added 21,000 sq. ft. of new space with an additional floor.
Children’s Hospital is completing a 160,000-sq. ft., four-floor expansion that has the facility well-positioned for future growth. Gregory also presided over the opening of many units and centers including the Ryan Seacrest Studio in the hospital.
Gregory also played an instrumental role in the growth of Children’s Hospital’s off-site services including Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital Vanderbilt at Williamson Medical Center, an outpatient surgical center in Spring Hill and the soon-to-open surgery and clinics facility for children in Murfreesboro. He was also instrumental in developing the “after-hours clinics” concept that has placed Children’s Hospital pediatricians into community pediatric clinics across Middle Tennessee providing care to children closer to their homes.
“Luke’s passing is a tremendous loss for the Vanderbilt community and for Nashville. He made countless contributions that were fundamental to the growth and vibrancy of our Children’s Hospital, and many other programs throughout VUMC. We will remember Luke not only for his superb leadership, but also for the friendship, warmth and kindness he generously shared with everyone,” said Jeff Balser, MD, PhD, President and Chief Executive Officer for Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Dean of the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.
Among his many other contributions, Gregory was active in the development of Vanderbilt Health One Hundred Oaks and was instrumental in forming multiple business partnerships such as Vanderbilt Home Care’s relationship with Walgreens to provide home infusion services, as well as acquiring multiple physician groups and overseeing key strategic relationships with health systems across the nation.
As a fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE), Gregory received the 2013 Regents Award from the ACHE his for four decades of service and leadership in health care management.
His fight during his illness was described as courageous. He was preceded in death by his parents, John Sr. and Sara Gregory, who were extremely influential in his life especially while growing up in Oxford, Georgia. In addition to Susan, his wife of nearly 40 years, he is survived by their two grown children, Kate (Mathew) and Ben; two grandchildren, Mathew Jr. and Sara; and his brother, John Gregory, Jr.
Information about services is pending.
