Vanderbilt University in Tennessee is working to make the Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) a not-for-profit academic medical center that is financially distinct from the institution, school officials announced.

The Nashville-based school and VUMC are recognized throughout the country and the globe as leaders in education, research, service to humanity and medical excellence.

"We have long benefited from shared institutional goals and values. Bolstered by all ten colleges and schools sharing a single campus and a historic culture of excellence and collegial collaboration, we are recognized nationally and worldwide for our academics and research," Nicholas Zeppos, chancellor of Vanderbilt University, said in a statement. "Our success, for example, in biomedical research and education is inextricably linked to robust and highly integrated clinical, research and education programs."

School officials said that by adapting to the changing health care environment, they can ensure that Vanderbilt University and VUMC not only continue, but also enhance their extraordinary service to the world and care "of our patients."

Unlike many academic medical centers, VUMC is not a separately incorporated entity. Instead it is contained within the same legal and financial structure as Vanderbilt University. Changes in the economics of health care require the university to reassess this structure.

VUMC must adopt management structures and practices that enhance its ability to act nimbly and more independently in a rapidly changing health care environment. Similar changes have already occurred, or are being considered, at other national leading academic medical centers.

However, Zeppos stressed that "the two organizations will remain tightly woven together by mission and the respected Vanderbilt name. The mission of VUMC will not change. It will continue to be at the pinnacle of medical excellence, and be one of the world's preeminent academic medical centers."

The change will be seamless to most members of the Vanderbilt community and will help expand their presence geographically through regional and statewide affiliates and partnerships.