Atrium Health, Wake Forest Baptist Health eyeing plan to merge, create new medical school

Atrium Health, Wake Forest Baptist Health and Wake Forest University are exploring a merger that would create a new academic health system.The three organizations signed a memorandum of understanding to enter exclusive negotiations to explore a partnership that would create a new medical school in Charlotte and create an "expanded research and innovation core" in Winston-Salem. They expect to have a final agreement later this year. The announcement comes just more than a year after merger discussions between Atrium Heath (formerly known as Carolinas HealthCare System) with UNC Health Care fell apart. Carolinas rebranded last spring to Atrium. It ultimately completed a merger with the much smaller Georgia-based Navicent, a deal which took effect this January.