Celebrating Our Centennial

A century ago, North Carolina Baptist Hospital opened with a simple commitment: to be a place of healing and teaching.

Through decades of growth, discoveries and medical firsts, our care teams remained devoted to healing those in medical need and training others to carry on that legacy. Over time, they have been committed to improving the lives of generations throughout western North Carolina and beyond.

Today, as a thriving part of one of America’s leading academic learning health systems, we continue answering the call - to give the most compassionate care to those who need us and to train future medical professionals. 

As we improve health, elevate hope and advance healing - for all - we will continue to fulfill the vision of our founders in the century to come.

The hospital’s original commitment to healing and teaching inspired expanded services and growth.

In the 1950s, the hospital’s educational role expanded with the development of separate schools in medical technology, cytotechnology, X-ray technology, nurse anesthesia, medical records librarians, practical nursing and pastoral counseling.

In the early 1970s, the CareNet counseling network was established to support progressive mental health counseling for people of all ages across North Carolina, becoming the largest hospital-based program of its kind in the nation.

By the 1980s, Wake Forest Baptist became widely recognized for leading care throughout western North Carolina:

• The hospital was designated as a Level I Trauma Center, providing total care for every aspect of injury – from prevention through rehabilitation
• Brenner Children’s Hospital opened to serve children and families throughout western North Carolina
• The Cancer Center at Wake Forest Baptist received National Cancer Institute (NCI) designation as a Comprehensive Cancer Center 

The legacy of healing and teaching has continued to inspire new ways of leading health care into the 21st century.

Spiritual care and connection has remained a strong focus. FaithHealth Ministries was organized to build partnerships with religious and community organizations to improve access to health care and the health of the community.

In 2020, Wake Forest Baptist Health and Wake Forest School of Medicine combined with Atrium Health, becoming Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist, providing opportunities to break new ground in the areas of medicine, education and research. 

Continuing to focus on expanding healing and teaching, in 2022, Wake Forest University School of Medicine became the academic core of Advocate Health, one of the largest health systems in the country, which was created through the combination of Atrium Health and Advocate Aurora Health.

Wake Forest Baptist has been home to many medical firsts, leading the way in research discoveries and clinical advancements from our home state and across the world.

First in North Carolina

• To use cobalt to treat cancer patients
• CAT scanner 

First in the nation

• To reattach a severed hand 
• To use ultrasound to detect prostate cancer 

First in the world

• To successfully use MRI to diagnose blockages in blood vessels leading to the heart 
• To engineer laboratory-grown organs that were successfully implanted into humans
• To invent a device to help treat large wounds, called a Wound VAC

With this rich history of groundbreaking achievements, we have continued to lead medical advancements into the 21st century.

Over the years, the medical center has continued to focus on meeting community needs, expanding health equity and creating a place where all belong. 

In the early 1960s, the medical center hired its first Black resident and the city of Winston-Salem's first Black pediatrician.

During this time, the medical school and hospital also adopted desegregation policies in education, employment and patient care.  

Throughout the 1960s, the hospital hired the first Black operating room nurses and the first Black physician and clinical instructor of surgery. The School of Medicine also enrolled the first Black student, who graduated in 1972 as a physician.  

Today, the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is committed to creating an environment of inclusion by embracing diversity for all patients, families, staff, faculty, trainees and students.