Gift to reduce health disparities, create new
pathways for health care careers and education
CHARLOTTE, N.C., April 17,
2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Atrium Health announced
today a $5.05 million gift to
the Atrium Health Foundation "Giving
Hope" campaign from the Truist Charitable Fund
and Truist Foundation, which will advance several
community-driven programs aimed at improving health outcomes and
economic mobility for vulnerable community members in the
Charlotte area.
"Our purpose is to inspire and build better lives and
communities," said Truist Chairman and CEO Bill Rogers. "We are committed to the well-being
and vitality of the clients and communities we serve. Atrium
Health's mission to improve health, elevate hope and advance
healing for all is very much in line with our purpose; together, I
believe we truly can make a difference."
A significant portion of the gift will support development of a
medical neighborhood – a clinical-community partnership that
includes the medical and social supports necessary to address
disparities in care – in underserved areas of Charlotte. Additional funds will be designated
to help build career pathways for justice-involved individuals and
entry-level teammates.
"From launching two new mobile primary care units, to expanding
perinatal support for mothers, to creating a STEM learning
laboratory for our local middle and high school students, this gift
from Truist represents both vision and generosity," said
Eugene A. Woods, chief executive
officer of Advocate Health, of which Atrium Health is now part. "We
are grateful for Bill Rogers'
leadership and the partnership with Truist. This is yet another
example of how their 'purpose-driven' mission continues to
transform countless lives and make our communities better and
healthier."
The Truist Charitable Fund has designated $4.5 million over three years to support
three significant community-based initiatives focused on mobile
primary care, community doulas and STEM learning. The new funds
will:
- Launch two new mobile primary care units in Atrium Health's
Center City and Northeast/Lake Norman areas. The units will
serve as an entry point into the health care system by traveling to
high-need, at-risk communities. Atrium Health will provide direct
care inside the mobile units, in addition to establishing
connections to a primary care medical hub and additional wellness
and social support services. Over the next three years, Atrium
Health projects serving more than 8,700 community members via these
units.
- Expand Atrium Health's community doulas program, which
provides full-spectrum perinatal support, addressing social
determinants of health and birth outcomes. The program will connect
birthing women of color from low-income and underserved
neighborhoods with doulas from their own communities, trained to
provide individualized, equitable care and support.
- Create a STEM learning laboratory that will be housed in
Atrium Health's "The Pearl" innovation district, near Midtown. With
Truist's support, STEM learning opportunities will be offered in
advance of the laboratory's opening, training local middle and high
school students from Title-I Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools through
mentorship and learning opportunities in science, technology,
engineering and mathematics.
Truist Foundation has designated $550,000 over three years to support Atrium
Health's Restorative Pathways and Sterile Processing Career
Pathways programs, both of which target the career prospects and
lifelong economic mobility of individuals who may otherwise lack
opportunities for training and career growth. Truist Foundation's
support will:
- Extend Atrium Health's diversity, equity and inclusion
goals by hiring – over the next three years – 60 previously
incarcerated or justice-involved individuals. Atrium Health's
Restorative Pathways program aims to disrupt the cycle of
disenfranchisement by offering those individuals a fair chance at
employment and a strategy for long-term career progression.
- Boost Atrium Health's Sterile Processing Career Pathways
program, which will enable 150 high-performing environmental
services, materials management, dietary and guest services
teammates learn new skills. With support from Truist Foundation,
the program will help advance entry-level Atrium Health teammates
onto a pathway toward increasingly skilled roles, thus improving
the diversity and cultural competency of Atrium Health's
workforce.
"Together, Atrium Health and Truist are committed to improving
access to health care and extending opportunities to build a
productive work force, for now and in years to come," said
Heath Campbell, Metrolina regional
president at Truist. "By joining forces and leading with care, we
hope to build a better Charlotte
for all."
About Truist Foundation
Truist Foundation is committed
to Truist Financial Corporation's (NYSE: TFC) purpose to inspire
and build better lives and communities. Established in 2020, the
foundation makes strategic investments in nonprofit organizations
to help ensure the communities it serves have more opportunities
for a better quality of life. Truist Foundation's grants and
activities focus on building career pathways to economic mobility
and strengthening small businesses. Learn more at
truist.com/foundation.
About Truist Charitable Fund
The Truist Charitable
Fund is a donor-advised fund advised by Truist and administered by
The Winston-Salem Foundation.
About Truist
Truist Financial Corporation is a
purpose-driven financial services company committed to inspiring
and building better lives and communities. Truist has leading
market share in many high-growth markets in the country, and offers
a wide range of products and services through our retail and small
business banking, commercial banking, corporate and investment
banking, insurance, wealth management, and specialized lending
businesses. Headquartered in Charlotte,
North Carolina, Truist is a top 10 U.S. commercial bank with
total assets of $555 billion as of
December 31, 2022. Truist Bank,
Member FDIC. Learn more at Truist.com.
About Atrium Health
Atrium Health is a nationally recognized leader in shaping
health outcomes through innovative research, education and
compassionate patient care. Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, Atrium Health is
part of Advocate Health, the fifth-largest nonprofit health system
in the United States, which was
created from the combination with Advocate Aurora Health. A
recognized leader in experiential medical education and
groundbreaking research, Wake Forest
University School of Medicine is its academic
core. Atrium Health is renowned for its top-ranked pediatric,
cancer and heart care, as well as organ transplants, burn
treatments and specialized musculoskeletal programs Atrium Health
is also a leading-edge innovator in virtual care and mobile
medicine, providing care close to home and in the home. Ranked
nationally among U.S. News & World Report's Best Hospitals in
eight pediatric specialties and for rehabilitation, Atrium Health
has also received the American Hospital Association's Quest for
Quality Prize and its 2021 Carolyn Boone Lewis Equity of Care
Award, as well as the 2020 Centers for Medicare & Medicaid
Services Health Equity Award for its efforts to reduce racial and
ethnic disparities in care. With a commitment to every
community it serves, Atrium Health seeks to improve health, elevate
hope and advance healing – for all, providing $2.46 billion last year in free and uncompensated
care and other community benefits.
About Advocate Health
Advocate Health is the fifth-largest nonprofit integrated
health system in the United States
– created from the combination of Advocate Aurora Health
and Atrium Health. Providing care under the names Advocate
Health Care in Illinois,
Atrium Health in the Carolinas, Georgia and Alabama, and Aurora Health Care in
Wisconsin, Advocate Health is a
national leader in clinical innovation, health outcomes, consumer
experience and value-based care, with Wake
Forest University School of Medicine serving as the
academic core of the enterprise. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, Advocate Health
serves nearly 6 million patients and is engaged in hundreds of
clinical trials and research studies. It is nationally recognized
for its expertise in cardiology, neurosciences, oncology,
pediatrics and rehabilitation, as well as organ transplants, burn
treatments and specialized musculoskeletal programs. Advocate
Health employs nearly 150,000 team members across 67 hospitals and
over 1,000 care locations and offers one of the nation's largest
graduate medical education programs with over 2,000 residents and
fellows across more than 200 programs. Committed to equitable care
for all, Advocate Health provides nearly $5
billion in annual community benefits.
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