Belong Together: Strong Together

Julie A. Freischlag, Chief Executive Officer & Chief Academic Officer, Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist

 IWD 2024

This year, Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist proudly celebrates 100 years of caring for our community. We’ve also designated 2024 as the Year of Belonging across our health system, and our tagline is Belong Together: Strong Together. Through all our initiatives, we continue to advance our culture commitment to create spaces where all belong. 

In celebration of Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day, we are joining together with our teammates to recognize the extraordinary contributions of women, across society and especially in the field of medicine. As a woman vascular surgeon and leader who has held many “first” roles, this day is personally meaningful to me. While it is an opportunity to reflect on all that women have accomplished throughout history, it also serves as a reminder of the many opportunities we have ahead to advance and elevate equity.    

One of the many ways we are creating inclusive spaces of belonging at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist and Wake Forest University School of Medicine is by intentionally embedding equitable practices across our workforce and leadership ranks. We encourage teammate engagement through our Women in Medicine and Science program and our System Resource Groups, which form around shared identities and experiences and are open to all teammates. Examples includes our Women Executive Leadership and African American Women Exemplifying Commitment to Equity and Leadership Groups (A2 WeXcel). In addition, we offer several professional development and mentoring programs, such as WeXcel Together, ASPIRE and a Mentoring Program for Women on the Road to Success. These programs are designed to address career equity barriers and empower women with the knowledge, skills and competencies to achieve career advancement. 

We know that building an authentic culture of belonging that embraces diverse perspectives and differences, shared experiences and backgrounds takes each one of us. When we belong together, we are strong together – not only for each other as teammates but also for our patients, our learners, and all those we are privileged to serve in our community.

Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist is committed to #InspireInclusion and advancing a culture of diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging that improves health, elevates hope and advances healing for all.