The East Tennessee Children’s Hospital has officially rebranded to become the Dolly Parton Children’s Hospital.

Announced on their website on the morning of Feb. 26 with a video statement from Parton, the hospital declared the partnership as a “powerful new collaboration designed to elevate children’s healthcare.”

“We’re excited to announce this relationship with (Parton) and the generational commitment that she has made towards our relationship and this partnership, and what it’s going to do for this community for years,” CEO of Dolly Parton Children’s Hospital Matt Schaefer said.

The collaboration between the hospital and Parton is meant to emphasize shared values of children’s health and well-being. 

In her video statement released with the announcement of the rebrand, Parton said, “I’ve always believed that every child deserves a fair chance to grow up healthy, hopeful and surrounded with love.”

Parton, an East Tennessee native, has long been a symbol of hope and creativity for children around the world, both through her career as an artist and her nonprofit, The Dollywood Foundation. 

“You think about who (Parton) is, right, and how she has lived her life, a life of generosity, a life of loving others, a life of a specific focus on serving children and inspiring children and their imagination,” Schaefer said.

A main initiative of The Dollywood Foundation has been Parton’s Imagination Library, dedicated to providing children with books in order to strengthen literacy skills and encourage family reading.

Her longstanding commitment to improving the lives of children falls hand in hand with this new partnership, and by collaborating with Parton, the hospital hopes to continue to expand their mission to serve more patients and families with state-of-the-art medicine and care. 

The hospital remains the busiest emergency department in Knox County. In addition, the Dolly Parton Children’s Hospital has the largest number of pediatric specialists anywhere in East Tennessee. 

“Today we offer more than 35 different pediatric specialties,” Schaefer said. “We do that across 20 different physical locations of care, serving about 500,000 patient encounters annually.”

With Parton’s ‘generational commitment,’ the hospital will be able to carry out their mission of exceptional healthcare with support and a symbol of love and imagination for their patients.

“This opportunity to now have (Parton) herself come alongside our longstanding mission is a way to both substantiate what has been for a number of years, and to continue to push us to imagine together, to aspire to serve more patients, more families in a fuller way than we ever have,” Schaefer said.

The hospital has launched its new website, Dollychildrens.org, and plans on implementing the rebrand throughout the year at their physical location with new signage and design change.

“In addition to expert care, children need hope, they need comfort, and they need to know that they are seen and valued,” Parton said. “And together, we’re committed to strengthening a relationship where world class care and a caring heart go hand in hand for children across East Tennessee and beyond.”