Public-private partnership forges healthy future for students and communities
The Meaningful Medicine initiative was established in 2022 with a landmark $10 million grant from Bank of America to Atrium Health Foundation. It unites the best innovations within health care, social impact, and workforce development to directly target health access and economic mobility within Charlotte.
In partnership with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS), Mecklenburg County, Central Piedmont Community College, the Latin American Coalition, Inlivian Housing, and YMCA of Greater Charlotte, this initiative supports families across the Charlotte region.
At CMS the initiative is helping increase access to health and emotional wellness resources with a focus on Title I schools and it is expanding career training opportunities for students during high school and post-graduation with family-supporting wages. Additionally, the program provides the most vulnerable in the community with embedded health support systems, including convenient access to new virtual health care sites and other social needs.
“When the public and private sector work together, impact can be scaled and build greater results. These partnerships are key, according to Shannon Duval, Chief Philanthropy Officer for Advocate Health. “Meaningful Medicine is truly driving Atrium Health’s mission home. It’s ensuring people in the communities we serve have access to care, and it offers opportunity and training to those who wish to pursue a health care career. The Meaningful Medicine program is driving future economic mobility and supporting Charlotte families.”
Creating meaningful access
The Meaningful Medicine program has six areas of focus: School-Based Virtual Care, School-Based Virtual Therapy, Workforce Development, Community Virtual Primary Care, Suicide Prevention Training, and Social Health Screening.
SCHOOL-BASED VIRTUAL CARE
In 2022, School-Based Virtual Care — or telehealth — was established in 20 CMS elementary schools and soon grew to expand to 115 CMS locations. Since 2022, the program has served more than 10,000 students and school staff during school hours with a 61% return to classroom rate. Based on the number of students and staff who were able to return to class, the program saved an estimated 4,500 cumulative days of school, or 2.5 hours of school per patient. Additionally, 76% of patients reported facing financial barriers to care (August 2022-2024).
SCHOOL-BASED VIRTUAL THERAPY
In addition to School-Based Virtual Care to support students’ and staff’s physical wellness, the Meaningful Medicine program also supports emotional and behavioral health through its School-Based Virtual Therapy program. This program is making a critical difference and offers supplemental support to those needing psychiatric evaluation and prescription medication for a mental health diagnosis.
- To date, there are 32 CMS locations offering this resource to students to support their emotional wellness and behavioral health needs during school hours, on campus, with the option to continue service at home throughout the year.
- The program has served the behavioral health and mental wellness needs of 900 students, with more than 11,000 visits.
- In the first two years of the School-Based Virtual Therapy program, it is estimated that there was a significant improvement in patients who reported* depressive and anxiety symptoms, due to timely, accessible interventions.
*Based on responses to PHQ-9 and GAD-7 surveys, both widely used by medical professionals to screen for depression and anxiety.
COMMUNITY VIRTUAL PRIMARY CARE
Meaningful Medicine also provides Community Virtual Primary Care clinics to meet the needs of the broader Charlotte region. Six clinics are supported by the YMCA of Greater Charlotte, the Latin American Coalition, Inlivian Housing, and Central Piedmont Community College. Since 2022, the program has:
- Provided virtual care to nearly 800 patients
Source: 2025 year-end report on Meaningful Medicine program.
WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT
An important element of the Meaningful Medicine initiative is its workforce development alignment, which advances nursing and medical-related training programs for CMS high school students. Led by Atrium Health, three health-related career pathway programs offer targeted experiences and training to help high school students advance in their health care careers. Sine 2022, nearly 300 Charlotte-Mecklenburg high school students have participated across three career pathway programs:
- Propelling Adolescents Towards Careers in Healthcare (PATCH), an eight-week curriculum of exposure to health care careers through professional development, which has enrolled 132 CMS students*
- The program has supported 71 CMS students with paid internship positions*
- Rise to Success, a three-year program for students pursuing an associate degree in a health care field, has enrolled 76 CMS students post graduation*
*As of August 2025.
SOCIAL HEALTH SCREENING AND SUICIDE PREVENTION
Meaningful Medicine also provides suicide prevention training and supports the social health needs of residents and families in the Charlotte region. To date, the program has provided:
- Suicide prevention training for more than 500 students and school staff and evidence-based suicide prevention curriculum to 295 ninth-grade students
- Screening for acute social health needs through the Community Virtual Primary Care, School-Based Virtual Care, and School-Based Virtual Therapy programs, resulting in more than 1,100 patients screening positive for social health needs
The road ahead:
As Meaningful Medicine grows, program partners remain committed to providing meaningful access through innovative virtual care and workforce development programs, and fostering meaningful connections to address social drivers of health and mental health needs across the Greater Charlotte area.
For the media:
For questions related to philanthropy, contact:
Kirstin Ashford, Vice President and Chief of Staff, Atrium Health Foundation | Kirstin.Ashford@advocatehealth.org
For questions directed to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, contact:
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Communications Department | media@cms.k12.nc.us
For general media inquiries contact: