Klein Family Establishes Endowed Chair in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Atrium Health

Gift advances rehabilitation research, innovation and patient care 

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Oct. 13, 2026 – Inspired by their family’s experience with rehabilitation care at Atrium Health, Fred and Gené Klein and their family have made a transformational gift to Atrium Health Foundation, establishing the Klein Family Endowed Chair in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation to advance research, innovation and patient care. 

Dr. Vishwa Raj, professor and chair of the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Wake Forest University School of Medicine, is the inaugural holder of the endowed chair. He was formally recognized during a private investiture ceremony held Oct. 1 in Charlotte. 

The gift reflects the Klein family’s first major commitment to Atrium Health Carolinas Rehabilitation and the David L. Conlan Center. That commitment grew from Gené Klein’s experience as a patient, when compassionate, innovative care helped restore her quality of life. The family chose to express its gratitude through an investment designed to benefit patients for generations. 

“We saw firsthand the difference rehabilitation can make in helping people regain function and independence and, as much as possible, get back to their lives,” said Fred Klein, founder of Childress Klein. “We hope this endowed chair gives Dr. Raj and those who follow him the flexibility to attract exceptional people, develop new ideas and continue improving care for patients and families.” 

Dr. Raj earned his undergraduate degree in biophysical chemistry from Princeton University and his medical degree from Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. He completed an internship in internal medicine at Abington Memorial Hospital in Pennsylvania and a residency in physical medicine and rehabilitation at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. During his tenure at Atrium Health, Dr. Raj led the establishment of the nation’s first cancer rehabilitation program accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities. 

“Great academic medical centers are shaped by leaders like Dr. Raj, who push boundaries, deliver compassionate care and inspire the next generation,” said Dr. Ebony Boulware, dean of Wake Forest University School of Medicine, executive vice president of academic health affairs at Wake Forest University and chief academic officer at Advocate Health. “His pioneering work has established a powerful foundation for the future of rehabilitation medicine.”

The gift supports Giving Hope: The Campaign for Atrium Health, which has fueled significant growth in endowed chair positions, adding over 20 new chairs since its launch in 2021. The endowments provide sustained resources for research, innovative models of care and the recruitment and retention of exceptional academic talent. 

“Endowed chairs are among the most meaningful and lasting investments donors can make in academic medicine,” said Mark Griffith, president of Atrium Health Foundation. “We are deeply grateful to the Klein family for honoring Dr. Raj’s extraordinary leadership and creating an enduring source of support for rehabilitation medicine throughout our region and beyond.” 

“The Klein family’s generosity will enable us to translate promising findings into more effective rehabilitation treatments and scale our impact across the Advocate Health system,” said Dr. Raj. “Most importantly, it will give our patients the ability to get back to the lives they need to live.” 

 

Contact:
Kathleen LeFever
(704) 918-7585
Kathleen.Lefever@advocatehealth.org 

 

About Atrium Health Foundation
Founded in 1959, Atrium Health Foundation is one of the largest charitable foundations in Charlotte. As the point of contact for all contributions benefiting Atrium Health in the Charlotte region, the Foundation is redefining care through transformational giving. Through its current Giving Hope Campaign, Atrium Health Foundation is supporting Atrium Health’s efforts to create the learning health system of the future by building healthy communities, outstanding education programs, preeminent research and exemplary facilities. 

 

About Atrium Health    
Atrium Health is advancing clinical care and research across the communities it serves by redefining care for all. The care network is anchored by Atrium Health Carolinas Medical Center, an academic medical center in Charlotte that includes Levine Children’s Hospital, Levine Cancer Institute and Sanger Heart & Vascular Institute, along with 11 hospitals, more than 900 care locations and over 1,400 physicians serving communities across the greater Charlotte region. Atrium Health is also the only health system in North Carolina to receive the American Medical Association’s Joy in Medicine™ Gold Level Recognition, reflecting its commitment to supporting clinicians and advancing exceptional patient care. It is part of Charlotte, North Carolina-based Advocate Health, the third-largest nonprofit, integrated health system in the United States. Advocate Health is a preeminent academic health system at the forefront of clinical excellence, innovation and research, with Wake Forest University School of Medicine serving as its academic core. Nationally recognized for expertise in heart and vascular, neurosciences, oncology, pediatrics and rehabilitation, Advocate Health is also a pioneer in the delivery of virtual healthcare. It’s accelerating discovery by making research participation part of the standard-of-care through its one-of-a-kind National Center for Clinical Trials. Advocate Health has one of the nation’s largest graduate medical education programs, with an experiential learning focus and specialized residencies to help protect the long-term sustainability of rural healthcare in America. Each campus of the school of medicine has an affiliated life-sciences focused innovation district: The Pearl, in Charlotte, and Innovation Quarter, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. With more than 165,000 teammates serving patients at 69 hospitals and over 1,000 care locations across eight states, Advocate Health reinvests over $6 billion each year to improve community health, making it one of the nation’s largest providers of community benefit. In North Carolina, Atrium Health invested $2.38 billion in community benefit in 2025 and is the largest provider of care for Medicaid, uninsured and underserved patients.

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