Atrium Health and Wake Forest Baptist Health are planning to merge with the hope of creating a top-tier medical care system. | Adobe Stock
Atrium Health and Wake Forest Baptist Health are planning to merge with the hope of creating a top-tier medical care system. | Adobe Stock
A merger between two prominent North Carolina hospital systems has the potential to create a “Silicon Valley for healthcare innovation” from Winston-Salem to Charlotte.
The Charlotte Weekly reported on Oct. 9 that Atrium Health CEO Eugene Woods said the new enterprise would lead to the new Wake Forest School of Medicine and more innovative opportunities.
“We are creating a nationally leading environment for clinicians, scientists, investors and visionaries to collaborate on breakthrough technologies and cures,” Woods said, The Charlotte Weekly reported. “Everything we do will be focused on life-changing care, for all, in urban and rural communities alike. And we will create jobs that provide inclusive opportunities to enhance the economic vitality of our entire region.”
Dr. Julie Ann Freischlag, CEO of Wake Forest Baptist Health, envisions North Carolina being a national destination for medical care because of the merger.
“Through our combined, nationally recognized clinical centers of excellence in multiple specialties, we will be able to expand our research in signature areas, such as cancer, cardiovascular, regenerative medicine and aging, and target bringing research breakthroughs to the community in less than half the time of the national average,” Freischlag said, The Charlotte Weekly reported.
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