By: Jordan Meadows
Staff Writer
The proposed combination of WakeMed and Atrium Health is facing renewed public scrutiny after two major community discussions in Raleigh.
The proposal, announced in May, would bring at least $2 billion in investment to Wake County and is expected to create more than 3,300 health-care jobs over five years. WakeMed and Atrium say the investment would help expand and modernize facilities, add inpatient beds, develop new Healthplex locations, expand specialty services including cancer care and neurosciences, increase virtual care and build what they describe as North Carolina's largest nonprofit behavioral-health network.
On July 27, hundreds of people packed Saint Ambrose Episcopal Church in Raleigh for a community town hall organized by The Patients Union. The meeting was billed as an opportunity for residents, patients and health-care workers to ask questions about the proposed combination.
One attendee, Denise Perry, captured the frustration by saying, “Our lives are worth more than some deal they're making in the backroom.”
Another attendee spoke emotionally about WakeMed's role in her family, saying it was “the hospital that allowed me to hear my son's laugh” and “the hospital that gave my children a chance to grow up with their mother.”
Critics at the July town hall repeatedly called for greater transparency and guarantees that patients would not lose services or face higher costs.
Wayne Wilhelm of the NC Poor People's Campaign said, “We need guarantees that services will not be cut, guarantees that charity care will not be weakened, guarantees that staffing will not be reduced. This deal does not give patients the guarantees we need.”
WakeMed CEO Donald Gintzig said the full agreement could not be released because it is a private agreement containing competitive business information. However, he said county commissioners and attorneys were being given opportunities to review additional portions of the documents.
“We have not made any decisions yet. We're still in listening mode,” Gintzig said.
Under the proposed governance structure, Atrium would become the sole corporate member of the nonprofit entity that operates WakeMed, while Wake County commissioners would retain the authority to appoint eight of WakeMed's 14 board members and Atrium would appoint the remaining six. WakeMed would remain a nonprofit organization and keep its existing name and operating licenses, but the arrangement would give Atrium substantial influence over the health system's direction.
That question of control was again front and center Monday evening, when the Wake County Board of Commissioners held a public hearing at the Wake County Justice Center.
Nathan Foster, speaking at the rally, warned, “This would be a complete handover of control. There would be no meaningful control with the county commission if this deal goes through. If that happens, we’ll be on the outside looking in, all of us.”
Opponents also raised concerns about possible price increases, staffing reductions, the quality of patient care and whether WakeMed's longstanding local mission could survive within a much larger health system.
Supporters argued that WakeMed needs the financial resources and technological expertise that Atrium can provide as Wake County's population grows and health-care facilities become increasingly expensive to build and maintain.
Dwight Spencer told commissioners, “This is the people’s hospital of Wake County. Please put politics aside and think about health. I think this is a good partnership. I think it will be a partnership that increases healthcare technology so that everybody will receive the best healthcare that WakeMed and Atrium can provide.”
Former Raleigh Mayor MaryAnn Baldwin also urged commissioners to approve the partnership, telling them, “Please support the changes to let WakeMed and Atrium move forward in partnership.”
Dr. Vijay Chaudhary, chief of oncology for WakeMed Cancer Care, said WakeMed had been searching for a partner capable of making major investments in the region.
“We asked who would be willing to invest in Wake County and help us build something greater for our patients,” Chaudhary said. “Atrium Health shared our belief that access to high-quality cancer care should not depend on patients' ZIP Code, insurance status or financial circumstances.”
Dr. Taylor Walker told commissioners, “Atrium CEO ... was paid $25.8 million in 2024 ... while providing his own workers with subpar health insurance,” and questioned why patients should trust a system that, he said, “sued more patients over medical debt than any other hospital in the entire state.”
Chris Berger, an Atrium spokesperson, said the health systems have attempted to balance public transparency with the need to protect confidential business information and said Wake County commissioners began receiving presentations about the proposed combination as early as March. Atrium has also pointed to research it says shows hospital combinations can reduce operating expenses and cited results from other Advocate Health combinations, including improvements in hospital mortality and chronic-disease management.
WakeMed says the $2 billion commitment would support redevelopment of its Raleigh campus, expansions at Cary and North hospitals, further development of the Garner campus and two new Healthplex locations. The systems also say the agreement would generate more than 3,300 new jobs, expand virtual care and bring additional advanced specialty and subspecialty services to the region.
State law allows certain competitive hospital business information to remain confidential, meaning commissioners and residents have had to rely on presentations and summaries for this and portions of the agreement rather than seeing every term of the transaction. The lack of full public access became a major issue after the original vote was delayed for up to 90 days following backlash from residents and state officials who questioned the speed and transparency of the initial process.
The August 17 hearing did not result in a vote, leaving the future of the proposal unresolved. The earliest potential consideration is now expected at the Wake County Board of Commissioners' September 8 meeting, although officials have not confirmed that the merger will be placed on that agenda.
