UTHSC News: Dr. Trey Eubanks Leads with a People-Centered Vision for Excellence

Raised by a mother and father who were both pharmacists in Tunica, Mississippi, Trey Eubanks, MD, has always seen the importance of taking care of people.

"In that type of small community, when people get sick, they often go to the pharmacy first," he says. "Some of them never went to the doctor and just went to Dr. Eubanks, who was my dad, and asked him for help."

Dr. Eubanks credits many of his life decisions to his parents and other people who inspired him at pivotal moments. For more than two decades, he has dedicated his career to training future doctors as a professor at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, treating patients as a pediatric surgeon at Le Bonheur Children's Hospital, and fostering the growth of his colleagues as a leader at both institutions. Now, in his first year as president of Le Bonheur, Dr. Eubanks' goals are centered around building up the hospital's people - the faculty, staff, and trainees - to provide patients and families with the best care possible.

While his experience around pharmacy sparked his interest in medicine, an incident on the high school football field cemented his ambition to become a doctor. "It was a tight game, and we had to block an extra point to keep us in it. We were able to block the point, but in the meantime, the left tackle, who weighed about 280 pounds, fell on my arm and dislocated my elbow," he says. A doctor on the sidelines took young Dr. Eubanks to the hospital to pop his elbow back into place. "I was in a lot of pain, and all of a sudden, boom, it was gone. And I thought, man, if I can do that for somebody - relieve their pain and restore their health - that's what I want to do."

Read more at our UTHSC news site.