Atrium reveals where Charlotte’s first four-year medical school will call home
Editor’s note: This story was updated on March 29 with details of a rezoning petition filed for the medical school complex.
Almost two years after Atrium Health announced plans to bring a four-year medical school to Charlotte, the hospital system on Wednesday revealed the school’s location in Charlotte.
And Atrium Health CEO Gene Woods said the medical school has ambitious plans to transform the local economy, health care innovation and become an “iconic” part of the Charlotte skyline.
The school will be built in Charlotte’s Midtown area, less than a mile away from Atrium’s flagship location Carolinas Medical Center in Dilworth, Atrium, Wake Forest Baptist Health and Wake Forest University officials announced on a Facebook livestream and news conference.
The new school will be built on a 20-acre parcel at the intersection of Baxter Street and South McDowell Street, Woods said.
“Because it’s right off of I-277, I believe it will become an iconic addition to the Queen City skyline,” Woods said. “Everyone who sees it will know this is a place where excellence lives and excellence is learned.”
Charlotte is the largest city in the country without a four-year medical school, according to Atrium.
“We will impact millions of lives through even better care, research and education,” Woods said. “…Not only will we fulfill our long-held desire for Charlotte to have a four-year medical school, but it will also serve as a catalyst for innovation, for economic development and social impact across the Southeast and beyond.”
Atrium Health officially combined with Wake Forest Baptist Health, including Wake Forest School of Medicine, in October, and the partnership will bring a second campus of the medical school to Charlotte. The partnership was announced in April 2019.
No cost for the project has been disclosed yet.
Construction plans
Construction on the school is expected to begin by early 2022, Atrium Health Chief Academic officer and Dean of the Wake Forest School of Medicine Julie Ann Freischlag said.
And the Charlotte school will host its first class of students in 2024.
Atrium Health recently filed a rezoning petition for land at 801 McDowell Street, Charlotte records show.
The property includes 14.3 acres and is being rezoned to: “accommodate a multi-use development on the site that would contain medical school, research, medical office, office, residential, retail and hotel uses, among other uses,” according to the records.
The plan calls for a maximum of 1.3 million square feet in non-residential uses. Up to 150,000 square feet of the development could be used for retail stores, and eating, drinking and entertainment establishments, according to the site plan.
The plan also allows for a maximum of 1,000 multi-family dwelling units and a maximum of 600 hotel rooms.
One plot at 801 S. McDowell Street currently hosts Atrium Health’s technology offices, which will be replaced with the mixed-use campus after the site goes through a zoning approval process, spokesman Dan Fogleman told the Observer.
The Charlotte medical school location will also be home to Wake Forest University’s new School of Professional Studies, university President Nathan Hatch said.
Local leaders like Gov. Roy Cooper, Congresswoman Alma Adams and Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles praised the effort to bring a medical school to Charlotte in videos shared during the news conference announcing the location.
“This medical school will make the entire Charlotte area and its surrounding communities healthier,” Cooper said in the video.
Ambitious med school goals
The medical school’s first class in 2024 is expected to be about 48 students, Freischlag said.
That will grow to 100 students per class — 400 students total studying at the medical school each year, she said.
Woods has said his goal for the partnership and medical school is to “create a ‘Silicon Valley’ for health care innovation, spanning from Winston-Salem to Charlotte.”
And Woods expects the medical school to have a big economic impact in Charlotte.
According to a Tripp Umbach study cited by Atrium, the new Wake Forest School of Medicine location is expected to have an additional $5.2 billion in economic impact and create nearly 43,000 jobs over the next 20 years, Woods said.
New scholarship honors George Battle
Atrium Health also announced plans for a new scholarship fund, the Bishop George E. Battle, Jr. Scholarship Fund.
Atrium is investing $5 million in the fund, and hopes to receive matches from the community to create a $10 million fund, Woods said.
The scholarship fund aims to make sure students from disadvantaged and low-income communities have equal opportunities to pursue careers in health sciences, Woods said.
Battle, an AME Zion bishop, is an emeritus member of the Atrium Health Board of Commissioners and Atrium Health Foundation Board. He is also a former Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools board chair and was among the founders of the Urban League of Central Carolinas in the 1970s.
“Bishop Battle is a lifelong advocate for those who are at risk or economically disadvantaged,” Woods said.
‘An important step forward’
The business partnership between Atrium, Wake Forest Baptist Health and Wake Forest University also went before state Attorney General Josh Stein recently.
He notified the companies on Tuesday that he would not oppose the combination.
“This deal marks an important step forward in helping to train and prepare the next generation of physicians, many of whom will stay and practice in our state,” Stein said in a statement. “If the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us anything, it is that way we need smart, dedicated, and well-trained medical professionals to provide health care.”
The Atrium-Wake Forest partnership was announced in 2019, a year after Atrium said it had ended combination discussions with UNC Health Care.
While that deal fell through, Atrium was able to finalize a combination with Macon, Georgia-based Navicent health — now called Atrium Health Navicent.
The combinations mark a nationwide trend toward health care consolidation, a trend that critics say can push up health care costs for consumers.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to clarify that the medical school will be a combination between Atrium Health and Wake Forest Baptist Health, including Wake Forest School of Medicine. Wake Forest University is not part of the combination.
This story was originally published March 24, 2021 at 8:41 AM with the headline "Atrium reveals where Charlotte’s first four-year medical school will call home."
.jpg)