Atrium Health Pledges Significant Donation to Blue Ridge HealthCare Foundation
CHARLOTTE, N.C. Sept. 30, 2021 --- As the partnership between Atrium Health and Blue Ridge HealthCare comes to an end, the organizations announced today that Atrium Health has pledged a $5 million donation to the Blue Ridge HealthCare Foundation as part of Atrium Health’s philanthropic focus on strengthening communities, transforming facilities and advancing healing through enhanced medical research and education.
“Although our formal management services agreement with Blue Ridge HealthCare will end after September 30, Atrium Health remains committed to strengthening and supporting health care in rural and underserved areas,” said Ken Haynes, enterprise executive vice president and president of the Greater Charlotte Region for Atrium Health. “We have had a long and proud history serving our communities. This $5 million gift symbolizes our commitment to the Burke County community and the broader region, to continue to foster health, hope and healing in rural communities.”
“As our partnership with Atrium Health concludes, we want to thank them for their support over the years and for this important contribution in support of rural health and our communities,” said Kathy Bailey, president and CEO of Blue Ridge HealthCare. “Our community is better today thanks to what we were able to achieve together in improving health throughout the region.”
As a leading health care provider in the Unifour region, Blue Ridge HealthCare understands the unique needs of rural healthcare delivery. During the COVID-19 pandemic of the last 18 months, its caregivers have served Burke County and the surrounding area with compassion, steadfast dedication and resilience.
“Our mission is to fund initiatives that support the delivery of excellent healthcare to all patients in Burke and surrounding counties,” said Traci Riebel, executive director of the Blue Ridge HealthCare Foundation. “This gift will help Blue Ridge HealthCare serve our patients and community.”
The Blue Ridge HealthCare Foundation has been serving Burke County and the Unifour region for 30 years, with a mission of providing funding for hospital-based projects, programs and patient needs through the Blue Ridge HealthCare system. The foundation is an integral partner of Blue Ridge HealthCare’s commitment to the delivery of excellent healthcare to the community.
“Atrium Health has been our partner for many years, and we appreciate this generous donation, particularly at a time when our Blue Ridge HealthCare teammates have continued rising to the challenges of serving our patients and community during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said J. Michael Bridges, chair of the Blue Ridge HealthCare Board of Directors.
About Atrium Health
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 nearly 70,000 teammates serving patients at 40 hospitals and more than 1,400 care locations. It provides care under the Wake Forest Baptist Health name in the Winston-Salem, North Carolina, region, as well as Atrium Health Navicent and Floyd in Georgia and Alabama. 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.
About Blue Ridge HealthCare
Blue Ridge HealthCare (www.carolinashealthcareblueridge.org) is a not-for-profit community healthcare system, providing advanced healthcare and wellness services from more than 40 locations across a three-county region of Western North Carolina. The system includes one hospital with two locations, a wellness center, and a continuing care retirement community. Nearly 120 primary care physicians, physician specialists and extenders in the Blue Ridge Medical Group combine with other physicians on the Medical Staff to serve patients in the region. Blue Ridge provides graduate medical education programs for medical school graduates and students in osteopathic medicine.
For more information about the Blue Ridge HealthCare Foundation or how you can support this community effort, please call 580-5365 or visit www.brhcfoundation.org.