Atrium Health taps German medical tech company as first partnership in innovation district
Germany-based Siemens Healthineers will be Atrium Health’s first strategic partner for its new innovation district, Atrium announced recently. It’s a site that the hospital system hopes to become a hub for surgical training in the district.
The $1.5 billion Pearl innovation district aims to attract STEM business to Charlotte, and will be home to the city’s first four-year medical school, a partnership between Atrium and Wake Forest School of Medicine.
The innovation district broke ground in January and also will include offices, labs, retail, residential and academic spaces, and Atrium subsidiary IRCAD North America, a surgical research facility.
Wake Forest University School of Medicine will receive medical imaging technology and curriculum development from Siemens Healthineers.
“We will support the launch of this globally recognized medical education center that will provide the latest in surgical training,” said Siemens Healthineers President and Head of the Americas, Dave Pacitti.
Siemens Healthineers uses AI and other technologies for its work in imaging and surgery, including cancer care. The collaboration with Atrium is a step in Siemens Healthineers’ goal to improve workforce training in the medical field.
Siemens Healthineers will provide the medical school with the latest surgical technology, creating a hybrid human and robotic operating room, using robotics to increase efficiency, according to the company website.
The international surgical training institute, IRCAD, will establish its North American headquarters in The Pearl with a research tower.
The organization provides training in cardiovascular, neuro- and orthopedic surgeries.
‘The Pearl’ of Midtown
Located between Baxter and McDowell streets in Midtown, The Pearl is expected to create more than 11,500 jobs, some of which will not require a college degree, according to its website. The name is an homage to Charlotte’s largest Black neighborhood, Brooklyn, said Atrium Health.
In the 1950s, approximately 1,000 families were displaced and more than 200 businesses and 12 churches were destroyed due to urban renewal. The remaining Brooklyn landmark, Pearl Street Park, remains a community gathering place.
The district’s medical school and IRCAD research tower, Phase I of the project, will total 600,000 square feet, according to The Pearl’s website. The med school will seat its first class in 2024, Atrium said.
