Beloved American icon Dolly Parton, who ain't dead yet, celebrated her 80th birthday last month. Today, she announces a partnership with a children's hospital that's near where she grew up in Tennessee. The Knoxville facility formerly known as East Tennessee Children’s Hospital will now be known as Dolly Parton Children's Hospital.
As TODAY reports, the former East Tennessee Children's Hospital is a private not-for-profit health care system that first opened in Knoxville in 1937, just nine years before Parton was born in the nearby town of Pittman Center. Parton is a longtime supporter of the hospital and of medical care in general. In 2020, for instance, the world learned the surprising news that Parton's research contributions had helped fund the development of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine.
Parton announces the name change in a video that both Dolly Partons, the person and the hospital, posted on Instagram. Parton announces the name change and says that she's honored to support the facility, and asks for extra support: "I can't do it all myself!" She looks very happy.
