5 things to know about a new health center coming to West Boulevard corridor
Residents living in the West Boulevard corridor of Charlotte will have closer access to much-needed health care services when the new Ed Brown Community Center opens on Monday.
Atrium Health and YMCA of Greater Charlotte worked together on the project at the Stratford Richardson YMCAcampus and celebrated with a ribbon cutting on Friday. It will house the Atrium Health Community Care Primary Care West Boulevard Family Medicine at 1940 West Blvd.
The 5,000-square-foot clinic will provide health services to a local community that historically has been underserved, officials said. It will have six exam rooms, a minor surgical procedure room and a lab.
The building is named in honor of Ed Brown III, a Charlotte business leader and philanthropist. He died in 2023 after a two-year battle with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Brown was 74.
Brown was a major supporter of Atrium Health, along with his wife Jan Hall Brown.
Brown served on the Atrium Health Board of Commissioners for 19 years and was board chair from 2013 to 2021. Speakers at the ceremony said Brown made a push for new care sites in vulnerable communities, which led to the new development.
The Atrium Health Foundation established the Ed Brown Community Center Fund to support patient and care delivery needs at the facility.
The cost of the new center was not immediately available, an Atrium spokesperson said.
What’s coming to the west Charlotte center?
West Boulevard Family Medicine will serve patients of all ages, Atrium Health said. Primary care services will include:
▪ Physicals (adult, sports and school)
▪ Same-day sick appointments
▪ Chronic disease management
▪ Immunizations
▪ Lab services and X-rays
▪ Pediatric care — well visits, newborn care, sick care
▪ Women’s health — pelvic exams and pap smears, breast exams, birth control consultation
▪ Sexually transmitted disease testing
▪ Senior care
▪ Medicare annual checkups
▪ Hearing and vision screenings
▪ Ear washes
▪ Electrocardiograms to examine heart function
▪ Spirometry testing for lung function
Other services include language interpretation, financial assistance, connection to community sources, prescription pickup and food pharmacy through a partnership with Nourish Up, a network of food pantries in Mecklenburg County.
The center will be open for patients from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
How did the center come together?
Philanthropist MacKenzie Scott provided a gift to the YMCA in 2020 totaling $18 million, and the organization began looking for areas of need, Atrium said in a news release. Federal money also helped with funding.
What’s coming next?
Atrium is adding a new virtual behavioral health system through the center.
Brown’s impact on Charlotte
Brown worked at Bank of America for many years before retiring as president of global corporate and investment banking in 2004. He later joined Hendrick Automotive Group in 2010 to become the chief financial officer before he was promoted to CEO in 2011.
He was also a supporter of local education. The Browns invested in student and residential life at Queens University of Charlotte. Their names are on a residence hall and the Hall Brown Terrace, a space that hosts events including commencement.
More on Atrium Health, YMCA
Atrium Health is a part of Charlotte-based Advocate Health. The hospital system is the third-largest nonprofit integrated health system in the U.S. and serves about 6 million patients. More than 155,000 employees work in 68 hospitals and over 1,000 care locations.
YMCA of Greater Charlotte has been in the area since 1874. The nonprofit interacts with more 300,000 people annually through membership, events and volunteer activities across 17 branches and two resident camps.
The Stratford Richardson YMCA opened in 2007 to serve the west corridor communities of Charlotte.
This story was originally published March 15, 2024 at 5:58 PM.
