Laura Beth Brown (’88)

Category: Alumni Professional Achievement | Awards

2022 Alumni Professional Achievement Award Winner

Laura Beth Brown has held a leadership role for over a decade with Vanderbilt Health Services (VHS), a top healthcare provider in Tennessee. Now Senior Vice President (SVP), Brown was the Vice President from 2012 until her 2021 appointment as SVP. She has overseen operations for the subsidiaries of VHS: Stallworth Rehab Hospital, VIP Midsouth, Hopkinsville Pediatric Associates, Friends in Global Health, Nashville Surgery Center, Cool Springs Surgery Center, and Gateway Cancer Treatment Center, among others.

Governor Bill Lee appointed Brown as Chief Nursing Officer for the State of Tennessee and tasked her with developing a statewide hospital plan to address the capacity crisis during COVID-19. She co-led an effort to launch the 1,600-bed alternative solution for hospital care at the Nashville Music City Center to treat patients who tested positive for COVID-19.

In addition to her administrative role with VHS, Brown is the Chair of the Vanderbilt Health and Williamson Medical Center Board of Directors, and she was previously the president of the Tennessee Nurses Association (TNA). The TNA has presented Brown with an Outstanding Member Award and named her Political Nurse of the Year.

A 1988 graduate of the UT College of Nursing, she was named to the Fabulous 40 during the college’s 40th anniversary celebration. Brown earned the highest alumni honor given by the college named after its founding dean: the Sylvia E. Hart Distinguished Alumni Award. Leadership Health Care also recognized Brown twice, once in 2010 and once in 2013, as an emerging leader.

Aside from her inspiring career and passion for quality healthcare, Brown is the self-proclaimed biggest fan of Dolly Parton in the United States.