Wake Forest Baptist Health and Wake Forest School of Medicine will become the academic core of Atrium Health, building a second campus of the school of medicine in Charlotte, which is currently the largest city in the U.S. without a 4-year medical school. The growth of the school of medicine will expand existing academic research capabilities in a way that expands opportunities for clinical trials across a large, diverse market with some of the nation’s leading medical experts.

“With this combination, we are creating the future of medical education,” said Nathan O. Hatch, Ph.D., president of Wake Forest University. “As the only entity with two exceptional 4-year medical school locations in our region, we will become one of the largest educators of physicians and other medical professionals in the state – immediately educating over 3,500 total students across more than 100 specialized programs each year – while reducing the shortage of doctors in rural and under-served urban communities.”


With its vision for creating a next-generation academic health system, the new Atrium Health will not only be a center of excellence for medical care and academics, but also a catalyst for health innovation and economic development. The Innovation Quarter in Winston-Salem is one of just nine innovation districts in the world recognized by The Global Institute on Innovation Districts. It will anchor the new high-tech corridor as it expands to Charlotte.

Both health systems have spent decades caring for their neighbors with a shared commitment of improving the health of people in communities they serve. The new enterprise will provide 50% more Medicaid services than any other provider in North Carolina and is committed to eliminating disparities in care – including rural-urban and racial disparity divides in care quality. It provides more than $5 million each day in charity care and other benefits to the community, making affordable, accessible, quality care available for all, regardless of a person’s income, ZIP code or the color of their skin.

Woods has been appointed president and CEO of the combined enterprise, guiding the strategic direction of the newly created next-generation academic health system, encompassing 42 hospitals and more than 1,500 care locations. Freischlag has been named the chief academic officer for Atrium Health, in addition to her current role as CEO of Wake Forest Baptist Health and dean of Wake Forest School of Medicine. She will focus on driving leading-edge, experiential medical education and training for its academic mission and re-imagining the future of basic science and translational research.

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