Eugene A. Woods Named One of the 100 Most Influential People in Healthcare

Atrium Health President and CEO ranked #7 by Modern Healthcare 

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Dec. 8, 2020 – Atrium Health President and CEO Eugene A. Woods has been honored for the fifth consecutive year as one of Modern Healthcare’s 100 Most Influential People in Healthcare. Woods is ranked seventh on the publication’s annual listing, up from number 32 a year ago. 

“Though he would be the first to say that this recognition fully embodies Atrium Health’s incredible clinicians and dedicated teammates, this amazing recognition reinforces Gene’s outstanding servant leadership and impact across the healthcare field and the nation,” said Edward J. Brown III, chair of the Atrium Health Enterprise Board of Directors. “Gene’s efforts and leadership that led to this recognition serves to strengthen our position nationally as the new Atrium Health, while we care for more patients and communities in the Southeast and beyond.” 

Modern Healthcare’s 100 Most Influential People in Healthcare is an annual ranking that recognizes those who are deemed by their peers and the senior editors of Modern Healthcare to be among the most influential in the industry, in terms of leadership and impact. These can be individuals who are government administrators and executives, elected officials, academic and thought-leaders, as well as senior-level executives within the healthcare field.  

This year has largely been defined by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Under the leadership of Woods, Atrium Health has been able to highlight its expertise in local, regional and national media, educating the public about the severity of COVID-19 and the steps every individual can do to help protect themselves and others. Woods has been a leading voice, establishing the Million Mask Initiative, a public-private partnership that has now more than doubled its goal by distributing over two million free masks into the hands of community members who need them most. He has also been a vocal advocate for underserved communities and has succeeded in eliminating racial disparities in COVID testing, while improving access to care for at-risk populations. He also testified before the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging to share Atrium Health’s successes and viewpoints about protecting the vulnerable elderly population.  

As Modern Healthcare notes, Woods has also been able to lead Atrium Health through the financial challenges presented by the pandemic while finalizing Atrium Health’s strategic combination with Wake Forest Baptist Health, joining them together as a single enterprise. This union brings their respective clinical expertise together with the research, innovation and the educational capabilities of these renowned institutions to revolutionize the ways people become and stay healthy, changing lives for the better for the more than 7 million people across the region who now have access to care from the combined organization. This combination will also create a second Wake Forest School of Medicine campus, which will be built in Charlotte.  

"This year will be remembered for more than the COVID-19 pandemic and election,” said Modern Healthcare’s editor, Aurora Aguilar. “It is a year that reminded us of the importance of the frontline healthcare worker and the power of collaboration. Every member of this class found ways to help their organization or the government or each other maneuver through unprecedented hardships. The result was often groundbreaking. Modern Healthcare and our readers selected the 100 most innovative and resilient candidates … which this year comprised a record number of women … who influenced the course that healthcare took during a global pandemic, continued to press forward amidst uncertainty, and used current events like the election, racial injustice and public health as an inspiration to do better. Congratulations to our honorees." 

This is the second major honor for Woods in recent days. Last week, it was announced that he was selected as the Charlotte Businessperson of the Year by The Charlotte Business Journal.  

Atrium Health is a nationally recognized leader in shaping health outcomes through innovative research, education and compassionate patient care. Atrium Health is an integrated, nonprofit health system with more than 70,000 teammates serving patients at 42 hospitals and more than 1,500 care locations. It provides care under the Wake Forest Baptist Health name in the Winston-Salem, North Carolina, region and Atrium Health Navicent in Georgia. Atrium Health is renowned for its top-ranked pediatric, cancer and heart care, as well as organ transplants, burn treatments and specialized musculoskeletal programs. A recognized leader in experiential medical education and groundbreaking research, Wake Forest School of Medicine is the academic core of the enterprise, including Wake Forest Innovations, which is advancing new medical technologies and biomedical discoveries. Atrium Health is also a leading-edge innovator in virtual care and mobile medicine, providing care close to home and in the home. Ranked among U.S. News & World Report’s Best Hospitals for cancer treatment and in eight pediatric specialties, Atrium Health has also received the American Hospital Association’s Quest for Quality Prize and was the recipient of the 2020 Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Health Equity Award for its efforts to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in care. With a commitment to every community it serves, Atrium Health seeks to improve health, elevate hope and advance healing – for all, providing more than $2 billion per year in free and uncompensated care and other community benefits.