08/30/2026
RIP Dolly - she was one of the good ones. 😔
1. A children’s hospital renamed in her honor. Knoxville, Tenn.-based East Tennessee Children’s Hospital was renamed Dolly Parton Children’s Hospital following a rebrand announced Feb. 26, a move its CEO said reflected a long-standing alignment between the entertainer’s legacy and the organization’s mission.
2. A birthday gift that funded pediatric cancer research. To mark her 80th birthday in January, Ms. Parton released a new rendition of her 1976 song “Light of a Clear Blue Morning,” featuring Lainey Wilson, Miley Cyrus, Queen Latifah and Reba McEntire, with proceeds benefiting pediatric cancer research at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt in Nashville.
3. A pharmacy robot that carries her name. Johnson City, Tenn.-based Ballad Health named three medication-dispensing robots at its Bristol (Tenn.) Regional Medical Center after Ms. Parton, Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash in a nod to Bristol’s country music history.
4. A contribution to pediatric infectious disease research. Ms. Parton donated $1 million to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in 2022, this time for pediatric infectious disease research, including work on antibiotic resistance and infections in children being treated for cancer.
5. Funding that helped advance a COVID-19 vaccine. Ms. Parton gave $1 million to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in April 2020 to support the fight against COVID-19, in honor of her longtime friend Naji Abumrad, MD, a professor of surgery there. The gift helped fund research that contributed to the development of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine, according to a Vanderbilt Health News release.
6. A donation tied to her niece’s cancer recovery. In 2017, Ms. Parton contributed $1 million to Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital. She made the gift in part because her niece, Hannah Dennison, had been successfully treated for leukemia at the hospital as a child.
7. A hometown hospital shaped by her giving. Ms. Parton also had deep ties to the hospital in Sevierville, Tenn., where she grew up. She helped raise $1 million for the LeConte Medical Center project through a 2007 benefit concert and matching pledges from Dollywood and her Dixie Stampede dinner theater.
Dolly Parton, who died Aug. 25 at 80, leaves a healthcare legacy — from a children's hospital renaming to funding COVID-19 vaccine and cancer research.