Reshaping the Landscape of Medical Education Through Innovation, Technology and Diversity

It’s truly an exciting moment in time for Atrium Health and for Charlotte. As you know, we will soon be making the Queen City home to the nation's newest four-year medical school – Wake Forest University School of Medicine Charlotte – and establishing an accompanying Innovation District, which will surround the campus.

School of Medicine and Innovation District Funding

As we recently shared with the Mecklenburg County Commission and Charlotte City Council, we will be training generations of future clinicians and scientists that will care for you, your family, your neighbors and your loved ones, right here in Charlotte.

In doing so, Atrium Health is coordinating the investment of more than $1.5 billion into Wake Forest University School of Medicine Charlotte and the surrounding Innovation District and we’ve asked for support from the city and county in the form of tax increment grants, totaling $75 million. Consistent with what has been used to attract other companies to the Charlotte region, this grant will fund essential infrastructure needed to relocate power and sewer lines, create new and improved roads, establish walking and biking paths and build a parking deck, among other enhancements and upgrades.

With this in mind, it is important to point out that the developer funds all of this up front. The tax increment grant becomes effective after the project has begun generating additional property tax revenue for the city and county. Projections show the county will immediately see an increase in property tax revenues and, by year 15, will collect more than $5 million each year, in perpetuity, as a result of the Innovation District.

We’re confident this is a very wise investment and that the Innovation District will be an economic powerhouse for years to come, as research and development firms relocate here and more are created in the heart of Charlotte.

An Innovation District that Fully Engages the Community

In addition to Wake Forest University School of Medicine Charlotte, the campus will also become home to Wake Forest University School of Business, the new Wake Forest School for Professional Studies and Carolinas College of Health Science.

This new innovation "city-within-a-city" – grounded in research and academics – will attract new businesses and incubate new ideas that can grow into the businesses of Charlotte’s future, while simultaneously addressing health disparities and lack of upward mobility as part of its mission. We are taking lessons learned at other innovation districts and applying them here, with the school of medicine to become a new and leading convenor of positive transformation within the community. By diversifying the industry landscape, in 10 years, Charlotte will not only be known for its financial services, but also as a destination for health tech, health sciences and life sciences.

When combined with the Innovation Quarter, adjacent to the Wake Forest University School of Medicine campus in Winston-Salem, we will create a vibrant, healthy corridor that will strengthen and help reshape the economy of the entire state.

Providing and Developing a Diverse Talent Pipeline

The influx of industry is also expected to create 11,500 new jobs over the next 15 years, in and around the Innovation District. Our goal is to establish an entirely new industry, workforce and talent pool to diversify and become a national leader in the life sciences space. Out of the thousands of new jobs this will create in Charlotte, an estimated 40 percent will not require a four-year degree.

Additionally, the newly established Bishop George E. Battle Jr. Scholarship Fund will also allow those who are in disadvantaged and low-income communities an opportunity to pursue careers in health sciences, including at our medical school, beginning in 2024.

We are working hard to educate our community and its leaders about the transformative potential this Innovation District will bring. I’ve personally toured with some of the neighbors and met with government officials to explain our objectives and listen to their points of view about how we can be an even better fit. As part of that, we will be forming a community advisory board made up of representatives from the neighboring areas as well as other important Charlotte-area voices to help guide our decision making as we bring the Innovation District to life.

I hope you'll join me in the excitement that is growing within the community as Wake Forest University School of Medicine Charlotte and the Innovation District reshape the landscape of medical education through innovation, technology and diversity, as well as furthers our mission to improve health, elevate hope, and advance healing – FOR ALL.?

Thank you, as always, for your continued support of Atrium Health.