Atrium Health

Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles announces her resignation, the state Senate votes to pause property tax assessments for a year, Wake County delays a vote on the merger of Atrium Health with WakeMed, and the PGA is back in town.

A proposed merger between Atrium Health and WakeMed is drawing pushback from state leaders over transparency and the specter of rising costs. Wake County commissioners have delayed a key vote as questions mount.

Atrium Health is seeking to take over WakeMed. Officials throughout state government urged the proposed deal to slow down after news broke Friday afternoon.

Atrium Health says its moving closer to delivering on its affordable housing commitments tied to The Pearl after earlier reporting found delays and discrepancies.

We look back on some of the biggest economic news of the year for the region. We also take a moment to consider what’s in store for the region in 2026.

The protesters were pressing the hospital authority board to honor affordable housing promises as the system reported soaring 2025 revenues. Meanwhile, union workers from affiliated facilities in the Midwest decried working conditions.

Residents and advocates pressed county commissioners to use their limited oversight power to hold the health care giant accountable for affordable-housing promises tied to development of the Pearl.

The first phase of Charlotte’s mixed-use medical district just outside uptown, The Pearl, opened in July. It includes a campus of the Wake Forest University School of Medicine, a surgical training center, and medical technology companies. But it’s what The Pearl doesn’t include that has some city and county leaders wanting answers.

There’s big higher education news in Charlotte this week. Queens University of Charlotte on Tuesday announced it’s merging with Elon University. To look at the business trends driving this merger and talk about other business news of the week, Tony Mecia of the Charlotte Ledger Business Newsletter joined WFAE’s Marshall Terry for our segment BizWorthy.

Triangle-based Duke Health has crossed into the Piedmont region, expanding its footprint into Atrium Health and Novant Health territory. Duke acquired Lake Norman Regional in Mooresville in April and will rebrand the hospital as Duke Health Lake Norman. What will this mean for health care?