Key Takeaways:
- Atrium has invested heavily in Wake Forest Baptist since their 2020 combination, adding facilities, jobs and expanded charity care.
- A Brown University analysis found Wake Forest Baptist inpatient prices rose 28% after the combination.
- More than two dozen current and former employees described mixed experiences, with many citing tighter staffing and budget pressures.
As Atrium Health continues its push to join forces with Raleigh-based WakeMed Health & Hospitals, its leaders have repeatedly pointed to another North Carolina deal as evidence of what to expect: its 2020 combination with Winston-Salem-based Wake Forest Baptist.
“Don’t judge us by what we say; judge us by what we’ve done,” Gene Woods, CEO of Atrium parent Advocate Health, told Wake County commissioners at a meeting this summer.
Those commissioners must sign off on the WakeMed-Atrium deal before it can move forward…