Tag: VUMC

Reporter Tom Pappert: Vanderbilt University Medical Center May Have Made Financial Arrangements to Avoid Revelations About Its Connection to Audrey Hale

Kaitlin Housler
Tom Pappert

Tom Pappert, lead reporter at The Tennessee Star, said he believes attorneys for Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) may have reached a financial arrangement with multiple entities involved in the Covenant School killer case in order to “protect” the medical institution’s reputation amid shocking revelations connecting VUMC to the killer, Audrey Elizabeth Hale.

On June 7, The Star was the first to report that Hale was a 22-year patient of VUMC from 2001 until the time of the horrific school shooting on March 27, 2023.

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Covenant Killer’s Father Confirmed Vanderbilt University Medical Center ‘Didn’t Tell Us’ About Daughter’s Interest in Columbine

Tom Pappert
Audrey Hale

Ronald Hale, the father of Covenant School killer Audrey Elizabeth Hale, confirmed to investigators that Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) did not inform his daughter developed an interest in the April 20, 1999 shooting at the Columbine High School in Colorado, according to a transcript of a July 12, 2023 police interview obtained by The Tennessee Star. 

Police documents obtained by The Star previously established that Audrey Hale was a 22-year mental health patient at VUMC, and Ronald and Norma Hale confirmed their daughter was evaluated for commitment for mental health reasons during three separate incidents, including two at VUMC for suicidal ideation.

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Vanderbilt University Medical Center Silent on Possible Liability, Settlements After Treating Covenant School Killer Audrey Hale Prior to Attack

Tom Pappert

Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) did not respond to a Monday inquiry from The Tennessee Star that sought to establish whether VUMC took any actions to mitigate any possible financial liabilities that may have resulted from its 22-year treatment of Covenant School killer Audrey Elizabeth Hale.

The Star contacted VUMC about what actions it may have taken to address possible legal liability after publishing the MNPD document, “Vandy Psych,” which contains notes written by an MNPD investigator who secured at least 75 pages of documents about Hale’s treatment at VUMC after obtaining a search warrant.

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Nashville Police Point to Judge I’Ashea Myles When Questioned over Will Mentioned by Covenant Killer Audrey Hale in Suicide Note

Tom Pappert

The Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) referred The Tennessee Star to the court of Tennessee Chancery Court Judge I’Ashea L. Myles when asked if the department provided specific documents to Judge Myles before she declared in her decision that not one page of the writings left by Covenant School killer Audrey Elizabeth Hale will be released, citing the copyright allegedly held by the parents of Covenant School children.

The Star asked MNPD Public Affairs director Don Aaron whether investigators provided Judge Myles with the document titled “Vandy Psych.” The document contains notes written by an MNPD investigator who received at least 75 pages of documents from Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC), where Hale was a 22-year mental health patient, after obtaining a search warrant in the wake of her March 27, 2023 attack that claimed the lives of six.

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Covenant Killer Audrey Hale Told Unknown Physician She ‘Felt Close’ to Columbine Massacre, Nashville Police Revealed in 2023 Recording

Tom Pappert
Columbine Shooters

Police investigators told the parents of Covenant School killer Audrey Elizabeth Hale their daughter “felt close” to those who perpetrated the Columbine High School attack in 1999 and created her own version of the Columbine Tapes.

The investigators told the killer’s parents, Ronald Hale and Norma Hale, that their daughter divulged the information to an unknown physician, according to the transcript of a July 12, 2023, interview The Tennessee Star obtained last month.

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Covenant School Killer Had Violent Outburst Prior to Attack Called Emotional ‘Leakage’ by Police During Interview with Parents

Tom Pappert
Audrey Hale

After the parents of Covenant School killer Audrey Elizabeth Hale described a violent outburst during a police interview, a Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) investigator referred to the incident as “leakage” of “anger,” in a possible reference to the “leakage of intent” researchers say is commonly displayed by mass killers.

The Tennessee Star confirmed last month it obtained the transcript of an MNPD interview with Ronald and Norma Hale, the parents of Audrey Hale, which was recorded on July 12, 2023.

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Covenant School Killer Audrey Hale Was Diagnosed with Five Mental Disorders, Parents Told Nashville Police

Tom Pappert
Covenant School Shooter Hale

Covenant School killer Audrey Elizabeth Hale received medical diagnoses for five mental disorders, her parents Ronald and Norma Hale told Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) investigators on July 12, 2023, according to a transcript of the interview obtained by The Tennessee Star from a source familiar with the investigation.

Ronald and Norma Hale, with the assistance of their attorney, provided the list of mental disorders after MNPD investigators questioned whether Audrey Hale was formally diagnosed with autism.

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Covenant School Killer Audrey Hale Began ‘Going Through Testing’ for Mental Health in Summer of 2001, Parents Told Police

Tom Pappert
Audrey Elizabeth Hale

Covenant School killer Audrey Elizabeth Hale began receiving treatment from a speech pathologist in September 2001, which is when a mental health professional first indicated to the killer’s parents that Audrey Hale suffered from autism, according to a transcript of the July 12, 2023 police interview with Ronald and Norma Hale obtained by The Tennessee Star from a source close to the investigation.

The Star previously published police documents which established Hale was a 22-year mental health patient at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) prior to her March 27, 2023 attack on the Covenant School, when she claimed the lives of three 9-year-old students and three adult staff members before she was heroically shot by two responding police officers.

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Nashville Police Deny Chief Acknowledged Vanderbilt University Medical Center Staff Failed Duty to Warn Potential Victims of Covenant Killer Audrey Hale

Tom Pappert

The Metropolitan Nashville Police Department (MNPD) on Wednesday denied Chief John Drake privately acknowledged staff at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) knew Covenant School killer Audrey Elizabeth Hale told mental health professionals she fantasized about killing her father and committing a mass shooting at a school, but failed to warn potential victims in violation of Tennessee Code 33-3-206, as was alleged by a source familiar with the investigation to The Tennessee Star on June 19.

MNPD Public Affairs director Don Aaron contacted The Star on Wednesday via email to state, “Chief Drake confirms that he DID NOT acknowledge what” The Star first reported in its June 19 article.

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Outgoing Vanderbilt Psychiatric Hospital President Created Psychiatric Crisis Evaluation Process Before Covenant Killer Audrey Hale was Referred for Commitment

Tom Pappert
Mary Pawlikowski

The outgoing president of Vanderbilt Psychiatric Hospital (VPH), part of Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC), combined the hospital’s services to patients in psychiatric crisis in 2016, three years before the Covenant School killer was referred to VPH for commitment and instead enrolled in an Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP).

The Tennessee Star reported on June 7 that Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) investigators learned within hours of Hale’s March 27, 2023 attack on the Covenant School, which claimed the lives of six, that the killer was a 22-year mental health patient of VUMC.

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Vanderbilt University Medical Center Started Center to Assist with Mental Health ‘Intervention’ One Day After Covenant School Attack

Tom Pappert
Therapist

Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) and Vanderbilt Psychiatric Hospital announced the creation of its Behavioral Health Clinical Services Center (CSC) on March 28, 2023, just one day after Covenant School killer Audrey Elizabeth Hale committed her attack that claimed the lives of six, including three children.

The Tennessee Star confirmed it obtained a portion of police documents from the Covenant case earlier this month, including documents that show Hale was a 22-year mental health patient at VUMC who began receiving treatment in 2001 when she was just six years old.

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Vanderbilt University Medical Center Announces New Vice President of Psychiatric Hospital amid Covenant Killer Revelations

Tom Pappert
Tanmay Mathur

Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) announced on Monday a new vice president to lead the Vanderbilt Psychiatric Hospital, where The Tennessee Star reported earlier this month that Covenant School shooter was a 22-year mental health patient, having begun receiving treatment as a six-year-old in 2001.

A March 14 news release by VUMC announced current Vanderbilt Psychiatric Hospital president Mary Pawlikowski planned to “retire at the end of the fiscal year,” placing her retirement date on September 30.

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More Trans Patients Join Lawsuit Against Vanderbilt University Medical Center over Data Given to Tennessee Attorney General

Tom Pappert
Tricia Herzfeld

More transgender patients have reportedly joined the class action suit against Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) after it alerted patients their medical records were given to Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti as part of an investigation into inflated billing practices.

According to attorney Tricia Herzfeld, who revealed new details about the legal action to WKRN on Thursday, there are now two class action lawsuits against VUMC.

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Vanderbilt University Medical Center Doctor Called Transgender Surgery ‘Big Money’ Year Before Covenant Killer Audrey Hale was Referred for Commitment

Tom Pappert
Shayne Sebold Taylor

Born a biological female, Covenant School killer Audrey Elizabeth Hale began identifying as a transgender man and using the name Aiden prior to her devastating attack which claimed the lives of three 9-year-old students and three adults on March 27, 2023.

Police documents published by The Tennessee Star determined Hale was a 22-year mental health patient of Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC), the home of a controversial transgender program that is reportedly considered “big money” for the hospital.

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Father Says His Teenage Daughter ‘Began Mentioning a Trans Lifestyle and Adopted a Male Name’ While Being Treated at Vanderbilt Psychiatric Hospital

Tom Pappert
Vanderbilt Psychiatric Hospital

The distraught father of a teenage daughter contacted The Tennessee Star on Thursday and expressed his concern about the treatment his daughter has been receiving at Vanderbilt Psychiatric Hospital, part of Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC).

The Star received the email after it published the notes taken by a Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) investigator the department obtained at least 75 pages of documents from VUMC following a June 1, 2023 search warrant. 

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Reporter Tom Pappert: Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s Connection to Covenant Killer Is the Most Significant Revelation of Entire Case

Kaitlin Housler
Tom Pappert MPL

Tom Pappert, lead reporter at The Tennessee Star, said he believes Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s (VUMC) connection to Audrey Elizabeth Hale, the Covenant School killer, is the “biggest part” of the unraveling story.

On June 7, The Star was the first to report that Hale was a 22-year patient of VUMC from 2001 until the time of the horrific school shooting on March 27, 2023.

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Vanderbilt University Medical Center Responds Following Revelation Covenant Killer Audrey Hale Expressed Fantasies of Killing Father, Shooting School

Tom Pappert
Audrey Hale VUMC

The Tennessee Star received a response from Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) regarding its apparent treatment of Covenant School killer Audrey Elizabeth Hale, which was revealed in a number of Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) documents obtained by The Star.

After The Star obtained a police summary describing 75 pages of notes retrieved from VUMC following a June 1, 2023 search warrant for information related to Hale’s treatment, and asked VUMC president and CEO Jeff Balser for comment, a spokesman said he was unable to confirm Hale’s treatment due to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability (HIPAA) Act of 1996.

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MNPD Notes About Treatment Covenant Killer Audrey Hale Received at Vanderbilt University Medical Center Tied by Metadata to Police Investigator Who Secured Search Warrant

Tom Pappert
Audrey Hale

The Tennessee Star retrieved metadata from the Microsoft Word document titled “Vandy Psych,” which contains notes summarizing 75 pages of documents retrieved from Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) following a June 1, 2023 search warrant for materials related to its treatment of Covenant School killer Audrey Elizabeth Hale.

The Star reported it obtained the document from a source familiar with the Covenant investigation on Wednesday, when its contents were published alongside the revelation a source claimed Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) Chief John Drake acknowledged VUMC failed its duty to warn Hale’s intended victims after she expressed fantasies of killing her father and enacting a school shooting.

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Covenant School Killer Audrey Hale Wrote About Her Therapist in Journal, Revealed Concerns over Anxiety, Autism, and Bipolar Disorder

Tom Pappert
Audrey Hale Therapist

Covenant School killer Audrey Elizabeth Hale wrote several entries in the journal police recovered from her vehicle that referenced her mental health, including an entry about her therapist, multiple references to autism, anxiety, and one entry that mentions bipolar disorder.

The Tennessee Star confirmed on June 5 it obtained about 80 pages of Hale’s writings from a source familiar with the police investigation into her March 27, 2023 attack which claimed the lives of three 9-year-old students and three adult staff members at the Covenant School.

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Vanderbilt Silent on Possible Transgender Treatment for Covenant Killer Audrey Hale

Tom Pappert
Vanderbilt Madical Center, North

The Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) is silent about whether Covenant School killer Audrey Elizabeth Hale sought transgender drugs, surgeries or other gender affirming treatment following the revelation she was a 22-year mental health patient of staff at VUMC.

VUMC has not replied to multiple requests for comment from The Tennessee Star following the revelations, which include confirmation that Hale was prescribed at least four medications from VUMC and was treated by mental health professionals associated with VUMC since April 2001.

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MNPD Learned on Day of Covenant Shooting Audrey Hale Had Been Treated by Vanderbilt Psychiatric for 22 Years from 2001 Until Her 2023 Death

Tom Pappert
Covenant School Shooter Audrey Elizabeth Hale

Metro Nashville Police Department learned Covenant School killer Audrey Elizabeth Hale was a 22-year patient of mental health professionals at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) on March 27, 2023, the same day she orchestrated her devastating attack that claimed the lives of three 9-year-old students and three adults working at the school.

The Tennessee Star obtained the June 1, 2023 affidavit filed by an MNPD detective to obtain a search warrant for VUMC from a source familiar with the Covenant investigation.

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Covenant Killer Audrey Hale Claimed She ‘Could Have Been Caught’ Preparing for Shooting in ‘Summer of 2021’

Tom Pappert
Audrey Hale

Audrey Elizabeth Hale, the Covenant School killer, wrote in a journal recovered from her vehicle that she “could have been caught” planning her attack in 2021.

The Tennessee Star on Wednesday confirmed it obtained dozens of pages from the notebook recovered from Hale’s vehicle at the Covenant School from a source familiar with the case.

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Tennessee AG’s Office Responds to Reports of Vanderbilt University Medical Center Handing over Medical Records of Transgender Patients

Kaitlin Housler
Doctor

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti’s Office released a statement reacting to reports that Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) turned over medical records of transgender patients to the state’s highest legal office.

On Tuesday, The Tennessean reported that it had reviewed a notice from VUMC informing patients of the transfer of records, which, according to the outlet, the facility said was the result of an investigation into “billing for transgender care services provided to individuals enrolled in State-sponsored insurance plans.”

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Vanderbilt Agrees to Halt All Gender Transition Surgeries for Minors

Peter D'Abrosca

After a report exposed Vanderbilt University Medical Center for performing and bragging about performing gender transition surgeries for minors, and after a letter from Tennessee state legislators, the hospital has agreed to cease all such medical procedures.

“HUGE NEWS: following our report, Vanderbilt has agreed to pause all gender transition surgeries on minors,” said Daily Wire’s Matt Walsh, who first exposed the medical center. “The fight is far from over but this will save children from mutilation and abuse. An incredibly important victory. Praise God.”

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Vanderbilt Announces Major Expansion to University Hospital

Peter D'Abrosca

Vanderbilt University Monday announced plans for the University Hospital’s largest expansion ever. 

“Through this project a new [Vanderbilt University Hospital] inpatient tower will be built atop an existing parking structure located between 21st Avenue South and Medical Center Drive. Access to the new tower’s entrance will be through Vivien Thomas Way,” according to the Vanderbilt University Medical Center. 

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Vanderbilt Launches and Funds Nonprofit Advocacy Group to Support Mayor Barry’s Transit Plan

Admin

Monday, Vanderbilt University issued a strong statement of support – along with a 501(c) (4) PAC called ‘Creating a More Mobile Community’ funded to the tune of $200,000 – for Mayor Megan Barry’s $5.2 $5.4 $9 billion transit plan proposal. “We must match our collective ambitions for the future of Nashville with investments in our future prosperity,” said Vanderbilt University Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos said is a statement. “A more connected Nashville through expanded transit benefits us all. Now is the time to ensure all members of the Nashville community have full access to the opportunities our vibrant city has to offer.” The statement points out that the University has recently begun its transformation of West End Avenue to what it calls FutureVU, described as a “innovative academic and experiential center.” Vanderbilt University Medical Center president Jeff Balser also voiced the institution’s strong support for “Mayor Megan Barry’s efforts to expand Nashville’s transit options.” “The development of sustainable, flexible transportation options that promote a healthy, accessible environment for all is a centerpiece of our land use planning efforts,” Zeppos said. “When taken together, Vanderbilt University and Vanderbilt University Medical Center are the region’s largest private employer. As such, we have an obligation, but also a…

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