A new four-year Wake Forest School of Medicine campus will be built in Charlotte, N.C., near Atrium Health Carolinas Medical Center, hospital officials said March 24.
The news comes after Charlotte-based Atrium Health and Winston-Salem, N.C.-based Wake Forest Baptist Health completed their merger in October.
"Through our partnership with Wake Forest School of Medicine, today we fulfill a long-held desire for Charlotte to have a four-year medical school that will usher in a brand-new era of healthcare education, innovation and social impact," Eugene Woods, president and CEO of Atrium Health, said in a news release. "The significant investments we are making will not only enrich countless lives as we train the next generation of top-tier clinicians but will also be a pivotal economic driver that will propel us forward as we emerge from the pandemic, stronger than ever."
The new medical school will be the second campus of Wake Forest School of Medicine. There is also a campus in Winston-Salem.
Officials said the location of the new campus, less than three-quarters of a mile from Atrium Health Carolinas Medical Center, which is undergoing an extensive renovation, will provide medical students access to the most modern, state-of-the-art facilities and technology.
"This location for Wake Forest School of Medicine's Charlotte campus will provide our students the perfect mix of expertise," Julie Ann Freischlag, MD, chief academic officer for Atrium Health and dean of Wake Forest School of Medicine, said in a news release. "And with the latest technology, whether students are learning in Winston-Salem or this new, second campus, their immersive experience will be second to none."
Atrium Health said it has also established the Bishop George E. Battle Jr. Scholarship Fund to support those who live in underserved communities and want to pursue a degree in health sciences at an Atrium Health-affiliated college or university.
Construction on the new medical school is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2022, and the initial class of first-year medical students at the school is anticipated to begin their education in 2024.
Read more about the plans for Wake Forest School of Medicine-Charlotte here.