1940s | 1950s | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s
Wake Forest University School of Medicine (formerly Bowman Gray School of Medicine) was founded in 1902 as a two-year medical school on the campus of Wake Forest College. North Carolina Baptist Hospital opened in 1923 as an 88-bed hospital in Winston-Salem. The medical school expanded to four years and moved to Winston-Salem in 1941. Brenner Children's Hospital and Health Services was established in 1986.
The Medical Center now has 100 buildings on 290 acres, including a 196-acre research farm and a downtown research center. With more than 11,000 employees associated with its main campus, the Medical Center is the largest employer in Forsyth County, North Carolina.
Historical Highlights
1941
Bowman Gray School of Medicine creates the first department of medical genetics in the nation.
1942 - 1944
Baptist Hospital adds programs to train dieticians, nurse anesthetists, and X-ray and medical technologists.
1943
First graduating class of Bowman Gray School of Medicine receives M.D. degrees.
1947
The School of Pastoral Care opens.
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1956
Wake Forest College moves to Winston-Salem on part of the Reynolda Estate, former home of the late R.J. Reynolds.
Davis Memorial Chapel built in memory of Annie Pearl Shore Davis and in honor of Egbert L. Davis Sr.
Educational role of Baptist Hospital expands with the development of separate schools in medical technology, cytotechnology, X-ray technology, nurse anesthesia, medical records librarians, practical nursing and pastoral counseling.
1957
The Medical Center becomes the first in North Carolina to use cobalt to treat cancer patients.
1959
Department of Clinics incorporates a professional practice plan - the first of its kind in the nation - now named Wake Forest University Physicians.
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1964
Both the medical school and hospital adopt desegregation policies related to education, employment and patient care.
Jesse Meredith, M.D., performs the first hand reimplantation in the United States.
1968
Medical school establishes a Division of Allied Health Sciences and begins Physician Assistant Program.
1969
Ultrasound is used to detect prostate cancer - first in the nation.
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1974
Bowman Gray/Baptist Hospital Medical Center organization officially adopted.
1975
Reynolds Health Center opens and is staffed by Bowman Gray faculty.
1977
Obstetrical services in Forsyth County are consolidated with the opening of new facilities at Forsyth Memorial Hospital.
1979
Bowman Gray School of Medicine establishes the nation's first toll-free hotline for information about epilepsy.
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1981
Brenner Center for Adolescent Medicine opens, first of its kind in the state.
1982
Level One Trauma Center established.
1983
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system installed, first in the state at an academic medical center.
The Medical Center is first in the nation to use transcranial Doppler ultrasound, used to measure atherosclerotic buildup on the walls of the carotid artery and to image the arterial circulation in the brain.
Program aimed at increasing minority representation in medicine started at Bowman Gray, is supported by a $335,000 grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
1985
Formal affiliation agreement is signed between the Bowman Gray School of Medicine and one of the largest medical centers in the People's Republic of China - Zhongshan Medical Center (later renamed the Sun Yat-Sen University of Health Sciences).
1986
Brenner Children's Hospital is established as part of Baptist Hospital through a gift from the Brenner Foundation.
Baptist Hospital establishes AirCare, a helicopter emergency medical service.
The Medical Center is first in the nation to use lithotripsy to break up common duct gallstones.
1988
Medical school begins academic affiliation with Tokai University of Japan.
1989
Bone marrow transplantation program is established.
Medical Center surgeons perform the first single-lung transplant in North Carolina.
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1990
National Cancer Institute designates the Cancer Center of Wake Forest University as a Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Medical Center cardiologists become the first in North Carolina to successfully open a blocked artery using a laser.
The Medical Center is first in North Carolina to have a molecular cytogenetics (cell genetics) laboratory and to use sterotactic radio surgery to treat tumors and blood vessel abnormalities deep within the brain.
1991
Medical Center is named a Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center.
1997
Hospital and medical school undergo realignment to become Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. Medical school is renamed Wake Forest University School of Medicine.
The medical school establishes a Women's Health Center of Excellence, one of 16 centers nationwide designated by the U.S. Public Health Service.
J. Paul Sticht Center on Aging and Rehabilitation opens. The first facility in the world to incorporate geriatric acute care, transitional care, psychiatry and rehabilitation under one roof.
1998
Medical school institutes innovative new curriculum, combining small-group problem-solving approach, early clinical experience, and new technology.
1999
Certificates of need are granted for two major projects: a 47,000-square-foot Downtown Health Plaza to replace Reynolds Health Center, and a tower addition that will house an expanded Brenner Children's Hospital.
BestHealth opens, North Carolina's first community health resource center located at Hanes Mall. BestHealth55, an associated seniors-membership program, and BestHealth Kids begin operation.
Medical school receives $40.6 million research grant from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disorders, the largest in the school's history.
The Medical Center installs the only Gamma Knife in North Carolina.
The Medical Center is first in the world to report the successful use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to diagnose significant blockages in blood vessels leading to the heart.
Wayne VonSeggen, PA-C, a Medical Center employee, is the first physician assistant ever elected to the N.C. Medical Board and is later elected president.
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2000
The Medical Center purchases the former Charter Behavioral Health System property on Old Vineyard Road and establishes Wake Forest University Baptist Behavioral Health, Inc.
The medical school announces plans to hire more than 60 new faculty members in five research areas and strengthen its support of other research efforts as part of $67 million initiative.
The medical school establishes a Center for Human Genomics to facilitate the identification of high-risk genes linked to common diseases, enabling improved treatment for these diseases.
The Medical Center establishes a Forensic Nurse Examiner Program within its Emergency Department to treat victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse.
The Downtown Health Plaza of Baptist Hospital opens, replacing Reynolds Health Center.
2001
Physicians at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center are the first in the world to treat a brain tumor patient with the newly FDA-approved GliaSite Radiation Therapy System.
The Medical Center becomes the home of the national office of the seven-year, $100 million Faith in Action program funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
The Medical Center breaks ground for its new Outpatient Comprehensive Cancer Center. The $75 million, 257,530-square-foot building will consolidate all the center's existing outpatient oncology services under one roof.
2002
Researchers from the School of Medicine and Advanced Cell Technology of Worcester, Mass., report that they have developed a large variety of specialized cell types from embryonic monkey stem cells through a process called parthenogenesis.
The School of Medicine establishes the Maya Angelou Research Center on Minority Health. Board members include Coretta Scott King and Andrew Young.
The new Ardmore Tower West is opened. The $132 million, $400,000-square-foot tower includes 11 new floors, six of which house Brenner Children's Hospital. The other five floor contain operating and surgical areas, space for outpatient hospital services and cardiac catheterization labs.
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