Medical School, Novant Receive OK for Charlotte Campus

Posted on July 12, 2021

The agency that accredits medical schools in the United States has approved plans by UNC’s School of Medicine and Novant Health for a Charlotte branch of the medical school.

The campus at Novant Health Presbyterian Medical Center will provide UNC’s curriculum to third- and fourth-year medical students, with a special focus on health equity led by Novant, beginning February 2022. The branch will begin with nine students and has the capacity to educate up to 30 students per class.

This will be the medical school’s third branch, joining those in Asheville and Wilmington.

The approval from the Liaison Committee on Medical Education comes after Novant Health, UNC Health and the medical school reached an agreement last year to expand medical education, research and clinical services to Novant Health facilities and other locations across North Carolina.

“We are extremely pleased to bring this aspect of our partnership with Novant Health closer to fruition,” said Dr. Cristy Page ’96, medical school executive dean and William B. Aycock Distinguished Professor, who also received a master’s degree in public health and a medical degree from UNC, both in 2002. “We believe it will bring great benefits directly to the students who will train at the campus while enhancing care in the region. Novant Health is a strong partner for UNC, and we look forward to beginning training in a few months.”

“The UNC School of Medicine Novant Health Charlotte Campus will offer the best of both worlds by combining UNC School of Medicine’s top-notch curriculum alongside instruction from Novant Health leaders dedicated to achieving health equity,” said Dr. Pam Oliver ’96, executive vice president and president of Novant Health’s Physician Network, who received a master’s in public health in 2000 and a medical degree in 2001 from UNC. “We look forward to welcoming these students to Charlotte to join our commitment to improve access to quality, affordable health care for all.”

In announcing the plans last year that included the Charlotte campus, the partners said one benefit would be training more students to work in rural and under-resourced communities across the state.