A 16-member board of directors appointed by The Charlotte Mecklenburg Hospital Authority (CMHA) and Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center (WFUBMC) will provide governance for the new enterprise through the newly formed nonprofit corporation, Atrium Health, Inc. Edward Brown, currently board chair of CMHA, will also chair the board of the new enterprise. CMHA, WFUBMC and Wake Forest University will each retain their own governing boards.

The strategic combination was first announced in April of 2019, with a definitive agreement signed in October of last year following approval by each entity’s governing board. With today’s signing, the new enterprise takes effect immediately, as will the integration process.


New Combined Organization at a Glance:

Caring for patients at 42 hospitals and more than 1,500 care locations
Reaching more than 7 million people across North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Virginia
Providing quality care through nearly 15 million patient interactions each year
Employing 70,000+ teammates
Educating over 3,500 students in more than 100 specialized programs
Receiving more than $300 million annually in external funding for research
Supporting over 3,500 clinical trials and research studies
Ranking among U.S. News & World Report’s Best Hospitals for cancer treatment and eight different pediatric specialties
Atrium Health and Wake Forest Baptist Health are Committed to:

Creating the future of medical education, while increasing the number and diversity of health care professionals as well as strengthening the pipeline of medical professionals who will serve rural and under-served urban areas.
Developing a second, state-of-the-art Wake Forest School of Medicine campus in Charlotte by building on the existing experiential learning curriculum and educating over 3,500 total healthcare learners – including students, residents and fellows across more than 100 specialized training programs each year.
Investing in the Translational Research and Population Health Center in Winston-Salem, exponentially expanding access to thousands of clinical trials across the region at Atrium Health’s and Wake Forest Baptist’s hospital and clinic locations to allow new treatments and cures to be realized more quickly.
Establishing a new Eye Institute in Winston-Salem’s Innovation Quarter for Wake Forest Baptist’s growing ophthalmology department, which attracts over 90,000 patient visits each year.
Constructing a new critical care, emergency department and surgery tower at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, which will bring new innovations to emergency medicine and state-of-the-art operating rooms and intensive care capabilities.

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