Atrium Facility Executive Brian Wofford

Jan. 31. By Dave Yochum. Brian M. Wofford is the inaugural vice president and facility executive for Atrium Health Lake Norman Hospital. He was previously vice president of operations at Atrium Health Cabarrus.

He will lead the coordination of clinical patient care services and oversee financial and strategic growth initiatives for the hospital.

The new hospital on 31 acres is an economic game-changer for Cornelius. Set to open early in July, the $255 million project was initially planned for 171,000 square feet with 36 inpatient beds, emergency services and two operating rooms. Atrium lalso received Certificate of Need approval for an additional 23 beds.

There will also be a 72,000 square-foot medical office building.

There will be three labor and delivery rooms that can accommodate 900 to 1,100 births every year, according to the previous facility executive, Bill Leonard, who spoke at a Newsmakers Breakfast last year.

Bill Leonard

“What you’re going to see onsite is really dramatic,” Leonard said at the time.

The operation is expected to provide more than 280 new jobs, Leonard said.

Background

Charlotte-based Atrium Health operates more than three dozen hospitals and hundreds of other care facilities.

Wofford joined Atrium in 2021 as vice president of clinical integration.

Previously he was at Duke University Health System, where he served as vice president of heart operations and VP of medical, surgical, and critical care services.

Wofford has a Bachelor of Science from Florida State University and both an MBA and MHA from Georgia State University. His wife Marie is an emergency department physician with Atrium.

The new hospital will include an eight-room emergency department open 24/7