Charlotte is booming, and the healthcare system is booming right along. While Charlotte has long been one of the largest cities in the country without a medical school, even that soon will change.
So, what is the largest hospital in Charlotte, North Carolina? We are so glad you asked.
What Is The Largest Hospital in Charlotte, North Carolina?
Atrium Health’s Carolina Medical Center features more than 1,000 beds and is the largest hospital in Charlotte, North Carolina. Novant Health’s Presbyterian Medical Center is just a few miles away and features more than 550 beds.
Atrium Health and Novant Health dominate the Charlotte medical scene. Still, it is worth noting that the region’s only Level 1 designation trauma center is Atrium Health’s flagship hospital, Carolina Medical Center.
Atrium Health
Atrium Health changed its name a few years ago after acquiring locations in Georgia and Alabama. The non-profit entity was previously called Carolinas HealthCare System, but you can see why that name might not have played well in Georgia and Alabama.
They say the only constant is change, which has certainly been the case with Atrium Health. After acquisitions in Georgia and Alabama, Atrium merged with Advocate Aurora Health to create a new entity called Advocate Health. The new and larger organization still operates at Atrium Health locally.
Advocate Health is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Atrium Locations
Carolina Medical Center is the largest hospital in Charlotte, but there are Atrium hospitals scattered across the Charlotte region. The Carolina Medical Center is home to several specialty institutes and Levine Children’s Hospital.
Atrium Health Cabarrus, in Concord, is the second largest hospital in the local system.
Atrium Health is now the fifth-largest non-profit healthcare system in the country. While Carolinas HealthCare System was a big player in the Carolinas, Advocate Health is a big player on the national scale.
The system features a whopping 1,400 care locations, including 40 hospitals. It takes a team of more than 70,000 individuals to care for the people it serves. Atrium Health operates under multiple names, including Atrium Health, Atrium Health Navicent, Atrium Health Floyd, and Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist.
Medical School
For years, the UNC educational system denied Charlotte a full-time medical school. But where there’s a will, there’s a way. Atrium Health and Wake Forest University School of Medicine entered a strategic agreement to create a full-time medical school in Charlotte.
It’s now an odd marriage that ties Atrium Health, Advocate Aurora Health Care, and Wake Forest University School of Medicine under the Advocate Health umbrella. Still, it’s a marriage that will benefit the Charlotte area for decades, even generations to come.
The group is also developing a medical innovation district called “The Pearl,” which will sit adjacent to the new medical school. The mixed-use development will be a hub for research and development and medical entrepreneurship.
In comparing Charlotte vs. Raleigh, Charlotte has lagged behind the capital city’s institutional pedigree. The medical school doesn’t close the gap, but it sure helps the Charlotte region.
Atrium Health – Public or Private?
Atrium Health is now part of Advocate Health, which is a private non-profit entity. While some competition healthcare organizations are publicly-traded institutions, such is not the case for Advocate Health.
OrthoCarolina Is Independent
OrthoCarolina is an orthopedics practice that is separate from Atrium Health. They’ve partnered with Atrium Health on occasions, but OrthoCarolina is independent, physican-owned, and physician-led. There are 300 OrthoCarolina providers, covering both North and South Carolina.
Tryon Medical Partners & Atrium Health
Tryon Medical Partners is a large group of physicians that split off from Atrium Health in 2018, and now operate as an indepent practice. The new group is focused on value-based medicine, rather than fee-for-service, which you will find with Atrium and Novant. Their aspiration is that healthcare be patient driven.
Novant Health
While Atrium Health is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, Novant Health is headquartered up the road in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Nonetheless, they are a major player in Charlotte, and Novant Health Presbyterian Medical Center is a regional facility that serves as the second largest hospital in the Charlotte region.
Novant Health has a prominent network of care facilities across the Carolinas. They’ve also served as a sponsor for the local professional sports teams, including the Charlotte Hornets.
Novant Health Presbyterian Medical Center in Charlotte features 590 beds, a Heart & Vascular Institute, and a Cancer Center, among other centers for excellence. The facility is also home to Hemby’s Children’s Hospital and a children’s emergency room (which we have visited multiple times).
Novant Locations
Novant’s largest hospital is the Novant Health Forsyth Medical Center, which features more than 850 beds in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Novant also operates a large regional hospital in Wilmington, North Carolina.
In total, the Novant network covers 600 clinic locations and more than 1,800 physicians.
Atrium Is Not Part of Novant
Because Atrium Health and Novant Health are so prominent in Charlotte, some people confuse the two, or errantly assume one is part of the other. Atrium Health is not part of Novant Health, nor vice versa.
Who Is Novant Health Affiliated With?
Novant Health Hebmy Children’s Hospital is affiliated with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. It provides specialized hematology and oncology care for children across the Carolinas. While Novant was formed based on the merger of Carolina Medicorp and Presbyterian Health Services, there is no longer a formal Presbyterian affiliation.
Novant Health – Public or Private?
Novant Health is a private healthcare organization based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The organization operates across four states, and also has a joint operating agreement with UVA Health. The joint operating agreement is known as the Novant Health UVA Health System.
Hospitals in Charlotte
So, Carolina Medical Center (part of Atrium Health) is the largest hospital in Charlotte. Novant Health’s Presbyterian Medical Center is the region’s second-largest hospital. Plus, both healthcare systems feature multiple hospitals and dozens and dozens of clinics across the Charlotte region.
Charlotte is a booming city with plenty of things to do. Whether you live in Charlotte or are visiting for work or play, we hope you don’t need to visit one of its hospitals. Still, you can find comfort in knowing that Charlotte is home to top-notch facilities and will soon be home to a medical school.
