To: Local Media
Re: Board of Commissioners vote on proposed WakeMed/Atrium Health strategic combination
When: Monday, Sept. 21, at 2 p.m.
Where: Wake County Justice Center, 300 S. Salisbury St., Raleigh
Room 2700 (Commission's Boardroom)
Why: The Wake County Commission will vote on proposed amendments to the WakeMed articles of incorporation and transfer agreement in the proposed WakeMed/Atrium Health strategic combination.
The Board of Commissioners paused the vote, originally scheduled for May 4, to gather information and public comment related to the combination.
The full agenda for this meeting will be posted at this link on Friday, Sept. 18. The Board will consider this matter as the first item on the regular agenda. Following the vote, each Commissioner is expected to deliver brief remarks from the dais. There will not be an opportunity for formal media interviews until after the conclusion of the full board meeting.
Interested media should RSVP to Dara Demi at dara.demi@wake.gov by Friday, Sept. 18.
What Wake County’s role is
WakeMed is asking the Commissioners to approve changes to two legal documents, enabling the hospital to proceed with regulatory reviews. These documents are:
The articles of incorporation define how many members the Board of Commissioners can appoint to the WakeMed Board of Directors, how those members are removed and where they must reside. The amended version of this document continues to allow the Commission to appoint eight members to the 14-member WakeMed Board of Directors. It also confirms that the eight appointees must live within Wake County. This ensures that Wake County and its residents will continue to have a say in how WakeMed meets its obligations after this combination.
The transfer agreement restates WakeMed’s commitment to maintaining or improving the level of healthcare services it provides to residents from across the region including indigent and community healthcare.
What Wake County’s role is NOT
The Commissioners are not involved in any way in WakeMed operations and policy setting. Since WakeMed's separation from Wake County government nearly 30 years ago, the County's role has been limited to appointing directors to the WakeMed Board. The County is not considering contributing any funding or any new property or assets to WakeMed as part of the proposed combination.
Background information
The WakeMed campus on New Bern Avenue in Raleigh was once the county hospital. In 1997, Wake County agreed to transfer the hospital to the nonprofit WakeMed Corporation under a state law that allows nonprofits to operate community hospitals if they:
- Agree to provide care to residents who are unable to pay and
- Operate as a nonprofit hospital, open to all without discrimination.
The 1997 agreement and the statute governing such transfers provide that if the hospital ever ceased operating as a nonprofit community general hospital open to the public and providing indigent care, it could revert back to the county. This agreement also requires approval of the Commission for any change in the management structure of WakeMed.
