Atrium Health + WakeMed propose $2B merger, many jobs in major NC healthcare move
A groundbreaking $2 billion investment in Wake County is part of proposed merger between WakeMed and Atrium Health that will create 3,300 new health care jobs, and reshape the state’s healthcare landscape, the healthcare companies announced Friday afternoon.
The proposed agreement would unite WakeMed, the Triangle area’s leading community-based health system, with Atrium Health, North Carolina’s largest health provider.
In addition to the financial commitment, the partnership promises expanded services for 1 million people across North Carolina, and to create North Carolina’s largest nonprofit mental health network.
Atrium is part of Advocate Health, the third-largest nonprofit health system in the U.S. It serves 6 million patients across 69 hospitals and more than 1,000 care locations. The system recently partnered with Wake Forest University to launch the city’s first four-year medical school, a centerpiece of The Pearl innovation district.
Advocate Health CEO Gene Woods describes the $2-billion plan for a strategic combination as “one of the largest health care commitments this region has ever seen.” Woods emphasized that “the impact goes far beyond dollars.”
Wake County Board of Commissioners will vote on the agreement Monday, May 4. If approved, a regulatory review will take place over the next several months, followed by a structured integration process.
In a statement Friday, N.C. State Treasurer Brad Briner raised concerns about the merger and expects the Attorney General and the FTC to closely scrutinize the proposal.
“There is a simple business principle that when suppliers consolidate and competition is reduced it is the consumers who suffer,” Briner said. “If history is any guide, this merger will not benefit the public.”
Inside the Atrium Health and WakeMed merger
The strategic combination between WakeMed and Atrium Health is projected to result in significant expansion and transformation across five key areas, according to the healthcare companies:
- Accelerating growth and jobs: A $2 billion investment would expand WakeMed’s footprint, including the redevelopment of the Raleigh Campus, expansion of Cary and North hospitals, development of the Garner Whole Health Campus and construction of two new Healthplex locations with stand-alone emergency departments. This expansion is expected to generate 3,300 new health care jobs over five years in clinical care, research, education and support roles.
- Improve access and affordability: The combination would establish North Carolina’s largest virtual care network, adding at least 100,000 new virtual visits annually for 24/7 on-demand access. It will bring new advanced specialty services, such as for cancer, neurosciences and pediatric specialties.
- Transforming mental health: The deal would create a network with more than 360 behavioral health inpatient beds and outpatient mental health services would be expanded, including new research and treatment methods through national partnerships.
- Strengthening community partnerships: The organizations would collaborate with community-based groups to invest in programs that address areas of greatest need and connect patients to resources such as healthy food, housing and transportation.
- Research and education: Medical education would be expanded through a partnership with Wake Forest University School of Medicine, creating new residency and fellowship opportunities at WakeMed. The deal will strengthen clinical training partnerships to build a workforce pipeline and attract life-sciences and health-tech companies.
Prior Atrium merger attempt
This is the second time that Atrium Health has tried to merge with a Triangle-based health system.
In 2017, UNC Health said it would partner with what was then known as Carolinas HealthCare to create one of the largest nonprofit health care networks and academic research centers in the country.
UNC Health and Carolinas HealthCare said they would form a company to oversee their joint operations under a new corporate name with a headquarters at a location to be determined.
The deal fell apart several months later, over disagreements about who would control the joint operating company.
Raleigh News & Observer reporter Richard Stradling contributed to this report
This is a developing story.
This story was originally published May 1, 2026 at 3:50 PM.
