Latest news with #Winston-Salem-based
Business Journals
01-07-2025
- Health
- Business Journals
Wake Forest's Charlotte campus redefines medical education with inaugural class
When Wake Forest University School of Medicine Charlotte opens this July, Charlotte will welcome its first class of 49 medical students to the new campus in The Pearl innovation district. The program will debut a pioneering, case-driven curriculum that immerses students in real-world patient scenarios from day one—reshaping how future physicians are trained. This campus builds on the Winston-Salem-based program and makes problem-based learning the cornerstone of its educational approach. Students and faculty at both campuses share resources, research opportunities and rotations. The connection allows students and faculty to tap into the full resources of the school across both locations, says Roy E. Strowd, M.D., vice dean for undergraduate medical education at Wake Forest University School of Medicine, who travels weekly between both sites. 'There's not that traditional lecture piece that many would be familiar with from their training,' Strowd said. 'The week starts with a case, and that becomes the springboard for self-guided instruction with faculty oversight.' The medical community's response has been unprecedented. When Strowd started recruiting for the first 30 teaching positions, he received nearly 170 applications. With enrollment expected to reach approximately 100 students per class over the next five years, the first Charlotte students will work with as many as 1,000 area physicians during their final two years of clinical rotations. expand Anatomy instruction relies on advanced tools rather than traditional cadaver labs, which allows students to learn anatomy longitudinally throughout their training rather than in isolated blocks. Students use virtual reality systems and plastinated specimens. (Plastination refers to the process of replacing water and fat in biological tissue with durable plastics.) The students also begin ultrasound instruction from day one. 'Wake Forest University School of Medicine is going to have the ability to really change the landscape of what we know about medical education,' Strowd said. The Charlotte campus' home at The Pearl sits just steps from Atrium Health Carolinas Medical Center, a Level I trauma and academic hospital. That proximity supports early clinical exposure through advanced technology and specialized services. The Pearl also hosts IRCAD North America, a world-renowned surgical training center providing expertise in robotics and minimally invasive surgery. Ensuring educational excellence across both locations remains a priority. The School of Medicine maintains consistent academic standards across both campuses. Graduates from Charlotte and Winston-Salem complete the same exams, residency match benchmarks and graduation requirements. Student performance in courses and phases is closely monitored and used to refine instruction. expand This expansion responds to a clear regional need. Charlotte was the nation's largest city without a four-year medical school. North Carolina also has one of the biggest rural populations in the country. The School of Medicine graduates enter primary care at high rates, and many stay in state for residencies. Once both campuses reach full enrollment, the Wake Forest University School of Medicine expects to graduate about 245 doctors per year, making it the largest medical school in the state by enrollment. The model also expands research opportunities for medical students in both cities, with students and faculty engaging in basic science work primarily in Winston-Salem and implementation-based projects in Charlotte. Character development remains central to the School's mission. Like the Winston-Salem campus, the Charlotte campus will focus on developing physicians who demonstrate intellectual humility, curiosity, compassion and courage through community integration and strategic partnerships. 'We're not reinventing what's happening in Charlotte's medical community, we're becoming integrated into what's already there and helping it grow,' Strowd said.
Business Journals
06-06-2025
- Business
- Business Journals
Williams Development Group begins work on spec industrial property in Whitsett
A Winston-Salem-based developer is betting on the continued strength of the Triad's industrial market with its latest spec building in eastern Guilford County.
Yahoo
03-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Former Hornets executive joins lobbying firm with Trump ties
Former Charlotte Hornets President Fred Whitfield is going back to work. Not in pro sports, though. Instead, he's joined forces with a man described this week by the Wall Street Journal as the ringleader of the 'MAGA lobbyists upending Washington.' Whitfield has joined Winston-Salem-based Checkmate Government Relations, a lobbying firm founded in December 2023 by Ches McDowell, the firm's 35-year-old managing partner. Whitfield's title is senior strategic advisor. READ: 9 Investigates: Charlotte City Council votes to not settle potential lawsuit from CMPD chief McDowell and Whitfield, in a joint interview with CBJ on May 1, said Whitfield will continue to live in Charlotte and consult with clients here while also leading business development, primarily for the firm's first office in Washington, D.C., newly opened on Pennsylvania Avenue, not far from the White House. The Wall Street Journal attributed McDowell's rise to lobbying prominence in Washington to an unorthodox approach that included a falconry outing with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. last fall — months before Kennedy became a Cabinet member in the second Trump administration. The main photo accompanying the story shows McDowell in khakis and a blazer standing next to a taxidermied bear. Read more here. WATCH: 9 Investigates: Charlotte City Council votes to not settle potential lawsuit from CMPD chief
Yahoo
03-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Novant doubles the size of Mint Hill emergency department. Here's what's new
Novant Health is opening an expanded emergency department in Mint Hill after spending $45 million to double the size of the unit, the healthcare system announced Friday. The project at Novant Health Mint Hill Medical Center added 19 rooms to accommodate the growing population of nearly 30,000 residents in the town. Since opening seven years ago, the hospital has handled more than 175,000 emergency department visits. Novant hosted a groundbreaking ceremony in October 2023 for the unit at 8201 Healthcare Loop. Construction took a year and a half to complete. An open house was held on Friday and it will open to the public on Wednesday. Novant added 13 treatment rooms, two trauma rooms and four behavioral health rooms for patients. Other additions include hybrid spaces for new radiology and cardiology services. Novant also moved and expanded mobile pad support areas and a lab, and completed renovations to waiting rooms and the public safety area. The emergency department will expand to 44,000 square feet. The Mint Hill location opened in 2018 with 46 beds to offer medical services to area residents. According to Novant, it was the first in the Carolinas to offer a scalpel-free treatment for essential tremor and tremor-dominant Parkinson's disease. Winston-Salem-based Novant is the second-largest health care provider in the Charlotte area, behind Atrium Health. It's also one of the largest hospital systems in the Southeast. Novant's network has more than 900 locations, including 19 hospitals, 750 physician clinics, urgent care centers, outpatient facilities and imaging services.
Forbes
03-04-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Small Business Lenders Have a Pop Quiz for Borrowers About Trump Tariffs
President Trump's new tariffs add another obstacle to getting a small business loan. Photographer: Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA/Bloomberg © 2025 Bloomberg Finance LP To get a small business loan, borrowers typically answer questions about their cash flow, assets, business plans, and credit histories. But there's now a new question lenders are asking, one most business owners probably aren't ready to answer. Lenders want to know how President Trump's unpredictable, heavy-handed tariff strategy might impact a borrower's business, according to Bob Coleman, publisher of the Coleman Report, a trade publication for small business bankers and lenders. Coleman brought attention to the issue Wednesday on X, formerly known as Twitter. He shared a conversation with a chief credit officer who told Coleman that he's instructing underwriters to consider how tariffs will affect a borrower's future cash flow. The officer didn't specify exactly how that analysis would work, only that he wanted borrowers to share their perception of how it might. On Wednesday, President Trump announced sweeping new tariffs, including a 10% baseline levy on all imports and significantly higher rates on specific partners—34% on China and 20% on the EU. The announcement triggered immediate market mayhem: S&P 500 futures dropped 3%. The dollar weakened against major currencies, and Treasury yields fell to six-month lows as investors sought safe-haven assets. Since taking office again in January, Trump's tariff plans have shifted constantly. In February, he threatened a 25% tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico, then walked it back. Tariffs on Chinese goods started at 10%, jumped higher in March, and now sit at 54% after the so-called 'Liberation Day' announcement on April 2nd. But details are vague, and it's not clear if this is the final plan or just another negotiating tactic. That unpredictability makes the new lending question particularly challenging. Small business owners can't predict future White House trade policy, yet lenders expect answers anyway. Ray Drew, managing director at Winston-Salem-based Truliant Federal Credit Union and host of The Art of SBA Lending podcast, says tariffs are already squeezing small businesses. He says that while some companies may benefit long-term if manufacturing returns to the U.S., but in the short term, many will struggle. That's because small businesses can't fully pass increased costs onto consumers, especially those with limited inventory flexibility. It's not a small problem, despite how Small Business Administration Administrator Kelly Loeffler wants to spin it. In March, Loeffler tweeted the results of RedBallooon and PublicSquare's Freedom Economy Index, which showed that just 17% of small businesses were worried about tariffs. But as Drew points out 17% of five million businesses isn't anything to sniff at. 'That's a lot of businesses, and a lot of jobs that will be impacted in the short term from these tariffs,' says Drew. 'We are already seeing it in our portfolios, and therefore we need to be asking borrowers about this.' MORE FROM FORBES
