Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist gains $1.3M grant toward emergency patient care

Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist said Friday it has received a $1.3 million grant from The Duke Endowment to help assist in a community outreach initiative focused on emergency patient care.

The Connect program is part of the statewide Bridge to Health initiative supported by the endowment and the N.C. Healthcare Foundation.

Bridge to Health is a four-year effort "to improve care for patients with complex medical and social needs by expanding transitional bridge clinics and strengthening connections among health systems, primary care providers and community organizations."

The model integrates care across clinical and community settings, using referrals from emergency departments and community partners to identify patients and provide up to 90 days of intensive, coordinated care.

The local effort will address homelessness, lack of insurance and unmanaged chronic conditions among vulnerable populations in Forsyth County. Individuals considered at high risk for their health will be directed to a bridge clinic at Baptist's Highland Avenue Primary Care.

Also participating in the Bridge to Health initiative are City with Dwellings, The Dwelling, Samaritan Ministries and the Bethesda Center for the Homeless.

"This investment allows us to deepen our commitment to patients whose needs extend beyond traditional care models," said Dr. Richard Lord, chairman of family and community medicine at Wake Forest University School of Medicine and Baptist. Lord serves as a principal investigator for Connect.

"By integrating medical care with behavioral health and community-based support, we can improve outcomes, reduce unnecessary emergency care and create more sustainable pathways to health and stability."

The initiative will include collaboration with regional and statewide partners "to evaluate outcomes and refine care models that can be scaled across North Carolina."

The $1.3 million grant is the third that the endowment has provided to Baptist healthcare initiatives over the past six years.

In February 2024, Wake Forest University School of Medicine was awarded $340,000 to help patients in historically Black communities.

The goal is enhancing access and helping people navigate the health systems and social service resources. The program is a partnership with Forsyth nonprofit Neighbors for Better Neighborhoods.

In June 2020, Baptist was awarded two grants totaling $910,800 from the endowment.

The grants were used on two projects: one focused on food insecure households; and the other on a home telemonitoring resource for patients discharged from the Wake Forest Baptist intensive-care recovery clinic.

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This story was originally published June 14, 2026 at 5:49 AM.