WakeMed and Atrium Health can move ahead with their proposed merger, following a vote by Wake County commissioners on Monday night.
On a 5-2 vote, the board approved changes to WakeMed's articles of incorporation and a transfer agreement. The Federal Trade Commission will have to approve the deal before it becomes final.
The vote follows months of negotiations between county attorneys and WakeMed. Commissioners were supposed to vote on the deal in May, after it was approved by WakeMed's board of directors. That vote was delayed after outcry from commissioners, state officials, and community members.
Many changes to agreement were made in the past week, including an intervention from Gov. Josh Stein. The governor was initially opposed to the deal but announced his support after Atrium agreed to several changes. Atrium will commit to spending $2 billion of its own money on modernizing and expanding WakeMed facilities. It will also provide a minimum of 8% care to people with low or no incomes. County commissioners will also retain the right to appoint eight members of WakeMed's 14-member board.
Vice Chair Safiyah Jackson voted with most county commissioners in favor of the deal. "The reality is that market dynamics shape how care is delivered and funded," she said. "This combination makes it possible for WakeMed to continue to be an equal in our local competitive healthcare market."
Chair Don Mial said the agreement will allow WakeMed to expand the serve the county's fast-growing population. Atrium has agreed to build new WakeMed hospitals if the deal becomes final. "On any given day, the emergency rooms are full, and there's a shortage of hospital beds," Mial said of the county's current healthcare landscape.
Commissioners Vickie Adamson and Tara Waters voted no. Both criticized what they saw as a rushed process driven by WakeMed and Atrium, instead of the community. "Quite frankly, the plot twists have been nonstop," Waters said. "For residents, the questions are really: What will this mean for the cost of healthcare? What will it mean for access to care? What will it mean for the quality of care?" Adamson echoed those concerns. "The goal of this is to raise prices. And there's no way I can support this," she said before the vote.
The vote followed hours of public comment and board members quizzing county attorneys about the contents of the agreement. Mial asked sheriffs deputies to clear the room after some protestors disrupted the vote. Members of the public were allowed back into the chamber after a brief recess and the vote proceeded before commissioners moved on to other business.
WakeMed and Atrium released a statement minutes after the vote, hailing it as a "for both organizations and the communities we serve."
The Patients Union, an advocacy group, held a rally to oppose the merger before Monday's meeting.
People against the deal packed the commissioner's chamber. Many wore shirts that said "WakeMed Is Our Hospital" and "We'll Remember in November."
