Carolinas Medical Center (CMC) is an 874-bed
non-profit
A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
,
tertiary
Tertiary ( ) is a widely used but obsolete term for the geologic period from 66 million to 2.6 million years ago.
The period began with the demise of the non-avian dinosaurs in the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, at the start ...
, research and
academic medical center
An academic medical centre (AMC), variously also known as academic health science centre, academic health science system, or academic health science partnership, is an educational and healthcare institute formed by the grouping of a health profes ...
located in
Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...
, servicing the southern North Carolina, northern South Carolina, and the
Metrolina
The Charlotte metropolitan area, sometimes referred to as Metrolina, is a metropolitan area of the U.S. states of North and South Carolina, within and surrounding the city of Charlotte. The metropolitan area also includes the cities of Gastonia, ...
region. Carolinas Medical Center is one of the region's only academic university-level teaching centers. The hospital is the flagship hospital of
Atrium Health
Atrium Health, formerly Carolinas HealthCare System, is a hospital network with more than 70,000 employees and part of Advocate Aurora Health. It operates 40 hospitals, 7 freestanding emergency departments, over 30 urgent care centers, and more t ...
. Carolinas Medical Center is affiliated with the
Wake Forest School of Medicine
Wake Forest University School of Medicine is the medical school of Wake Forest University, with two campuses located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina and Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. It is affiliated with Atrium Health Wake Forest B ...
. Carolinas Medical Center is also an
ACS designated level I trauma center and has a heliport to handle medevac patients. Attached to the medical center is the
Levine Children's Hospital
Levine Children's Hospital is a 234-bed pediatric hospital located on the campus of Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. Operated by Atrium Health
Atrium Health, formerly Carolinas HealthCare System, is a hospital network with ...
, treating infants, children, adolescents, and young adults.
History
The hospital was organized in 1940 as Charlotte Memorial Hospital on Blythe Boulevard in the
Dilworth neighborhood. Since that time, the hospital has undergone several major expansions, bringing the licensed bed capacity to 874 beds.
In May 1970, the organ Transplant program began with the first cadaveric kidney transplant performed by Dr. Don Mullen and Dr. Dale Ensor. This was one of the first transplants in the USA done outside a medical school setting. A year later, Mullen and Ensor performed the first living related transplant.
Dr. Francis Robicsek performed the first
heart transplant
A heart transplant, or a cardiac transplant, is a surgical transplant procedure performed on patients with end-stage heart failure or severe coronary artery disease when other medical or surgical treatments have failed. , the most common proce ...
at Carolinas Medical Center in 1986.
In 2007, the multistory
Levine Children's Hospital
Levine Children's Hospital is a 234-bed pediatric hospital located on the campus of Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. Operated by Atrium Health
Atrium Health, formerly Carolinas HealthCare System, is a hospital network with ...
was completed and opened, making it the second largest children's hospital in the Southeastern United States, after
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
In 2010, the
University of North Carolina School of Medicine
The University of North Carolina School of Medicine is a professional school within the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It offers a Doctor of Medicine degree along with combined Doctor of Medicine / Doctor of Philosophy or Doctor of M ...
established the Charlotte Campus of the UNC School of Medicine at Carolinas Medical Center. Students from UNC School of Medicine had been completing clinical rotations at Carolinas Medical Center for over 40 years prior.
On July 28, 2011, ''
Becker's Hospital Review
Becker's Hospital Review is a medical industry trade magazine that does its own research, supplementing this with government-released data and U.S. News & World Report rankings. It covers its field from the prospective of those involved: doctors ...
'' listed Carolinas Medical Center under 60 Hospitals with Great Orthopedic Programs.
In October 2020,
Wake Forest School of Medicine
Wake Forest University School of Medicine is the medical school of Wake Forest University, with two campuses located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina and Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. It is affiliated with Atrium Health Wake Forest B ...
and
Atrium Health
Atrium Health, formerly Carolinas HealthCare System, is a hospital network with more than 70,000 employees and part of Advocate Aurora Health. It operates 40 hospitals, 7 freestanding emergency departments, over 30 urgent care centers, and more t ...
began an agreement to make Carolinas Medical Center one of its flagship teaching hospitals along with the creation of a Charlotte campus of its medical school.
Today, Carolinas Medical Center is the region's only Level 1 Trauma Center and part of
Atrium Health
Atrium Health, formerly Carolinas HealthCare System, is a hospital network with more than 70,000 employees and part of Advocate Aurora Health. It operates 40 hospitals, 7 freestanding emergency departments, over 30 urgent care centers, and more t ...
, one of the largest public not-for-profit
healthcare systems in the United States.
References
External links
Carolinas Medical CenterCharlotte Memorial Hospital in 1972
{{authority control
Atrium Health
Hospitals in Charlotte, North Carolina
Hospitals in North Carolina
Trauma centers
Public hospitals in the United States