It has been a year since Atrium Health announced our organization’s new name. And in that time, a lot has happened. We were called upon by North Carolina’s leaders to provide emergency care after a major hurricane slammed the coast. We dug deep to ensure we are providing for the financial stability of our teammates. And we remain thrilled to have welcomed a new partner into our Tree of Life family – extending our mission to improve health, elevate hope and advance healing – for all.
In February 2018, Carolinas HealthCare System announced its new name – Atrium Health. The announcement reflected the transformation from our organization’s beginnings in 1940 as Charlotte Memorial Hospital to a healthcare system with a regional footprint and national profile for addressing many of healthcare’s most pressing challenges.
This was a historical moment in the nearly eight-decade history of our system, but we have never shied away from change. To continue our work as one of the nation’s leading healthcare organizations, it was important to have a name that represented our goal of reaching communities where we could be of service, regardless of geography. Our roots are steeped in a humble beginning as a public charity hospital, and nearly 80 years later, we remain committed to our original mission – now with a new name.
Carrying Forward Together
This past year also marked an exciting addition to our Tree of Life Family. In February 2018, we announced that Navicent Health – a leading healthcare organization in the second-largest population center in Georgia – had agreed to strategically combine with Atrium Health.
In December of last year, the two organizations celebrated as they signed the definitive agreement. Navicent Health is now an Atrium Health hub for central and south Georgia – expanding the reach of our organization’s world-class care services and economic benefits to a new community. The agreement became effective on January 1, 2019.
A wonderful day with our teammates in Georgia. pic.twitter.com/dXmidzmAAP
— Atrium Health (@AtriumHealth) January 10, 2019
Caring for our Caretakers
Choosing a career in the healthcare field is more than just a job. Our dedicated teammates take care of our communities during their most vulnerable moments. It truly is a noble calling to take up the mantle of caring for those in our communities who need us the most.
That’s why we’re so proud to be able to financially support our teammates who lift up our communities. Earlier this month, Atrium Health announced a $19 million investment in compensation increases for over 15,000 teammates, primarily nurses and those in nursing support roles across the system. This comes on the heels of several other wage increase announcements in the past year.
In 2018, nearly all Atrium Health teammates received some form of performance-based incentive payment, wage increase, or market pay adjustment, totaling nearly $108 million dollars of additional income for our teammates. This includes a Charlotte area industry-leading minimum wage increase to $12.50 in June 2018, as well as a separate nursing wage increase in July 2018.
The Calm After the Storm
Few could predict the devastation that was created when Hurricane Florence slammed the coast of North and South Carolina and dumped record amounts of rain in these rural communities.
When we received the call from North Carolina’s leaders to deploy our mobile emergency department to the coast, the team from Atrium Health’s Carolinas MED-1 was unsure of what to expect.
What they saw was unreal.
Towns flooded. Interstates shut down. Hospitals closed. The team was directed to the small town of Burgaw in Pender County after the local hospital became inoperable due to the impacts from the storm.
For two long weeks in the parking lot of a Family Dollar store, the team served as the only 24-hour healthcare facility in a 50-mile radius. The crew delivered two babies, airlifted more than 30 patients to nearby hospitals and provided around-the-clock care to communities who were trying to pick up after one of the worst storms ever to pass through the Carolinas.
The team deployed not just physicians and nurses but respiratory therapists, counselors, care support personnel and even a behavioral health specialist to assist those who needed our help the most.
“It was so rewarding, being able to care for them, after how much they lost,” says Kristy Haynes, manager of operations for Carolinas MED-1. “The people in the community were so kind, appreciative and grateful.”
Sign of the Times
After announcing our organization’s name change, we began the roll out of our new facility names. In the past year we have introduced the following hospital names to our communities: Atrium Health Cleveland, Atrium Health Kings Mountain, Atrium Health Lincoln, Atrium Health University City, Atrium Health Anson, Atrium Health Pineville and Atrium Health Union. These new names will carry the important mission of these facilities forward, into our collective future.
We will continue to roll out additional facility names throughout the year. Make sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn for the latest on these changes.
The past year has been full of festivities and opportunities – milestones and miracles. Next year, our organization will celebrate 80 years as a healthcare leader for our communities. And we look forward to sharing this birthday with all of those who have cared and supported us along the way.
