08.18.2021 Atrium Health News
New Brand Joins Two Distinguished North Carolina Healthcare and Learning Academic Medicine Providers to Improve Care FOR ALL
(WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. and CHARLOTTE, N.C.) – Aug. 18, 2021 – Today Wake Forest Baptist Health and Atrium Health unveiled their strategic combination’s new brand that reflects and acknowledges both the importance of each regional organization’s current brand as well as Wake Forest Baptist’s and Atrium Health’s joined commitment to be the pre-eminent health care provider and learning health system in North Carolina.
“This is another milestone in our journey to come together for the benefit of our patients and the communities we serve,” said Dr. Julie Ann Freischlag, CEO of Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist, dean of Wake Forest School of Medicine and chief academic officer, Atrium Health. “We were pleased we were able to retain our legacy brand which is so important to our region, to Winston-Salem and to our affiliation with Wake Forest University. At the same time, we see our exciting future ahead of us. More of our students will become the health care providers of the next generation. Together, with our colleagues within Atrium Health, we will create new care protocols and innovations that change what health care looks like for those who count on us for their care as well as those in our underserved communities who have limited or no access to health care, food, housing and other resources. This is our commitment to our regions.”
“Through our combination with Wake Forest Baptist and Wake Forest School of Medicine, we have embarked on a new journey to redefine how care is delivered to our rural and urban communities alike throughout North Carolina and beyond," said Eugene A. Woods, president and CEO of Atrium Health. “And what we have already experienced in our first year together – especially as we continue to collectively battle this pandemic – is that we are a much stronger organization as one.Whether through sharing the best clinical practices, launching a second campus of Wake Forest School of Medicine or discovering new cures, today's announcement of our new Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist brand is a tremendous milestone in our quest to be the national destination for care."
The new Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist brand comes after a great amount of collaborative work that has occurred as a result of the combination of the two organizations. Investments have been made by Atrium Health in Wake Forest Baptist and Wake Forest School of Medicine in Winston-Salem and the school’s new campus to be built in Charlotte. All told, this amounts to a combined $700 million investment in the region by Atrium Health, which is part of a $3.4 billion pledge by Atrium Health over 10 years.
“People in the North Central and Western North Carolina will soon see our new brand rolled out in advertising and marketing materials, followed by signage and other types of branding in all locations over the next year,” said Denise Potter, vice president and chief communications, marketing and media officer, Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist. “The brand carries the Atrium Health Tree of Life logo, which represents the enterprise’s commitments and mission, as a symbol of hope and rejuvenation, preservation and regeneration of life. Each tree branch represents a guiding principle that our teammates strive to provide when serving and enriching our communities: gentleness, generosity, humility, prudence, wisdom, kindness, loyalty and courage in everything we do.”
Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist employs more than 20,000 teammates, which includes nearly 3,000 physicians, more than 1,300 faculty and 1,000 students. These teammates are part of Atrium Health’s 70,000 teammates across the enterprise.
About Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist
Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist (www.wakehealth.edu) is a pre-eminent academic health system based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina and part of Atrium Health Enterprise. Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist’s two main components are an integrated clinical system – anchored by Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, an 885-bed tertiary-care hospital in Winston-Salem – that includes Brenner Children’s Hospital, five community hospitals, more than 300 primary and specialty care locations and more than 2,700 physicians; and Wake Forest School of Medicine, the academic core of Atrium Health Enterprise and a recognized leader in experiential medical education and groundbreaking research that includes Wake Forest Innovations, a commercialization enterprise focused on advancing health care through new medical technologies and biomedical discovery. Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist employs more than 20,000 teammates, part of Atrium Health’s 70,000 teammates across the Southeast. Wake Forest Baptist provided a record-setting $596.2 million in community benefits during the 2020 fiscal year, which includes unreimbursed care, charity care, education and research, and community health improvement. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
About Atrium Health
Atrium Healthis a nationally recognized leader in shaping health outcomes through innovative research, education and compassionate patient care. Atrium Health is an integrated, nonprofit health system with nearly 70,000 teammates serving patients at 40 hospitals and more than 1,400 care locations. It provides care under theAtrium Health Wake Forest Baptistname in the Winston-Salem, North Carolina, region, as well asAtrium HealthNavicentandFloydin Georgia. A recognized leader in experiential medical education and groundbreaking research,Wake Forest School of Medicineis the academic core of the enterprise. Atrium Health is renowned for its top-ranked pediatric, cancer and heart care, as well as organ transplants, burn treatments and specialized musculoskeletal programs. It is also a leading-edge innovator in virtual care and mobile medicine, providing care close to home and in the home. Ranked among U.S. News & World Report’s Best Hospitals in eight pediatric specialties, Atrium Health has also received the American Hospital Association’s Quest for Quality Prize and its 2021 Carolyn Boone Lewis Equity of Care Award as well as the 2020 Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Health Equity Award for its efforts to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in care. With a commitment to every community it serves, Atrium Health seeks to improve health, elevate hope and advance healing – for all, providing more than $2 billion per year in free and uncompensated care and other community benefits.
