UNC Health CEO, medical school dean, says he is leaving both jobs
Wesley Burks, who led UNC Health and the UNC School of Medicine through the COVID-19 pandemic, announced Tuesday that he will step down in September.
Burks wants to spend more time with his family, including a family member with increasing health needs, he said. He also wants to focus on developing the N.C. Children’s Hospital, a joint venture between UNC Health and Duke Health.
A pediatrician who specializes in childhood food allergies, Burks came to UNC in 2011 and was named dean of the medical school and CEO of the health system in 2018. UNC Health is a state-owned network of 20 hospitals and more than 900 clinics affiliated with the University of North Carolina system.
“It has been an incredible honor to lead UNC Health and UNC School of Medicine and to work alongside such dedicated, talented teammates,” Burks said in a written statement Tuesday. “When I started my career, I never imagined I would end up in this place and in this role, but I can’t think of any better place to conclude my time as CEO and dean.”
UNC Health grew under Burks, with additional hospitals and clinics and an expanding physician network.
But his most visible role was in leading UNC Health during the COVID-19 pandemic and in seeking support for doctors, nurses and other employees as the deadly coronavirus taxed the health care system. When a new surge in COVID patients hit in the summer of 2021, he urged people to get vaccinated, noting that nearly all of the people with COVID serious enough to be hospitalized were unvaccinated.
“It is frustrating and isolating in healthcare right now as we face more sickness and suffering while other parts of society press on as if the pandemic is over,” he wrote in an op-ed in The News & Observer. “Our teams are simply exhausted.”
In January, Burks helped announce the creation of N.C. Children’s, the state’s first freestanding children’s hospital. UNC and Duke created a new nonprofit to build and operate the 500-bed hospital at a site expected to be announced this summer.
“North Carolina’s current children’s hospitals do not have the ability to build broad-based, highly specialized pediatric care,” Burks said at a kickoff event in downtown Raleigh. “This means that sick kids often have to transfer between hospitals, or worse and often, have to leave North Carolina for treatment.”
Duke and UNC have been planning a children’s hospital for a decade and say the effort got a big boost last year when state lawmakers agreed to provide $320 million toward the estimated $2 billion cost.
Peter Hans, president of the UNC System, appointed Cristy Page to serve as interim CEO and dean when Burks steps down Sept. 1. Page is president of UNC Health Enterprises and UNC Health’s chief academic officer.
In a written statement, Hans praised Burks for his integrity and passion.
“He led the health system through some significant issues,” Hans wrote, “while ensuring it provided outstanding patient care, increased research, educated more students than ever, and grew to serve countless more North Carolinians with the highest quality care.”
