Transformational Gift Honors the Life and Legacy of R. Stuart Dickson, Charlotte Business Leader and Philanthropist

Gift to support new Atrium Health state-of-the-art, advanced care facility

CHARLOTTE, N.C., September 30, 2024 – A $5 million donation to Atrium Health Foundation’s Giving Hope campaign honors R. Stuart Dickson, Atrium Health advocate and leader, who passed away in May of this year. The gift from longtime friends James E.S. “Jim” Hynes and Howard C. “Smoky” Bissell, acknowledges Dickson’s unwavering leadership, spanning decades of service and chairmanships on both the Atrium Health Board of Commissioners and Atrium Health Foundation.

It also marks the first transformational gift in support of Atrium Health’s new state-of-the-art, advanced care facility, scheduled to open in 2027. The new tower will address the healthcare needs of the rapidly growing region, offering unparalleled access to highly specialized care.

In recognition of the gift, the new skybridge at Atrium Health Carolinas Medical Center (CMC) will be named in Dickson’s honor. The two-level R. Stuart Dickson Skybridge will connect the existing Rush S. Dickson Tower at CMC to the new advanced care facility. Its glass façade will provide connectivity to nature with views of Little Sugar Creek Greenway and other greenery along Blythe Boulevard, serving as a juxtaposition of nature and advanced innovation and technology.

“Stuart Dickson’s visionary leadership is woven into the fabric of our health system’s success,” said Gene Woods, CEO of Advocate Health, of which Atrium Health is a part. “Naming this skybridge in his honor is a powerful and fitting tribute to his legacy of ‘connecting’ people and ideas to advance the best healthcare available within our community.”

Well-known in Charlotte for his success leading Harris Teeter Super Markets, Stuart helped transform the Charlotte economy. He also grew up learning the importance of leadership and philanthropy, demonstrated by his father Rush, who served on the board of Charlotte Memorial Hospital for 20 years.

“Stuart Dickson gave his time, talent, and treasure to Atrium Health and its predecessor organizations, following in his father’s footsteps and serving as board chair for 23 years,” said Jim Hynes, who succeeded Dickson as chairman of the hospital board. For decades, Hynes has invested in the health system as a major philanthropic supporter, also serving as a founding member of the Advocate Health board and as chair of the Atrium Health Foundation board.

“Stuart was creative, enthusiastic and had an immense network of people who liked and respected him,” Hynes said. “He was a giant in this community and spearheaded efforts to build the foundation of what we now call Atrium Health.”

“Jim and I are pleased to honor Stuart for his visionary leadership, and for seizing opportunity and pioneering change,” said Smoky Bissell, whose family has sparked advancement and excellence in health care across Atrium Health. Bissell was also responsible for leading the campaign to build Atrium Health Levine Children’s Hospital, which opened in 2007.

“Stuart was our mentor and friend, and his footprint is felt throughout our community,” said Bissell.

“We’re deeply grateful to Smoky Bissell and Jim Hynes for recognizing Stuart, as well as for their own meaningful impact,” said Woods. “Smoky, for his significant philanthropic contributions to Carolinas Rehabilitation and Levine Children’s, helping to make both hospitals the destination for care. And Jim, for his decades of leadership at Atrium Health, going all the way back to board chair of Carolinas Healthcare, shaping us into the health system we are today.”

The R. Stuart Dickson Skybridge will serve as the gateway to advanced medicine, providing safe passage to patients, teammates, and visitors – a gift of friendship, and a gift to the community.

 

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 inspires transformational giving to improve health, elevate hope, and advance healing – for ALL. 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 a nationally recognized leader in shaping health outcomes through innovative research, education and compassionate patient care. Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, Atrium Health is part of Advocate Health, the fifth-largest nonprofit health system in the United States, which was created from the combination with Advocate Aurora Health. A recognized leader in experiential medical education and groundbreaking research, Wake Forest University School of Medicine is its academic core. Atrium Health is renowned for its top-ranked pediatric, cancer and heart care, as well as organ transplants, burn treatments and specialized musculoskeletal programs Atrium Health is also a leading-edge innovator in virtual care and mobile medicine, providing care close to home and in the home. Ranked nationally among U.S. News & World Report’s Best Hospitals in eight pediatric specialties and for rehabilitation, Atrium Health has also received the American Hospital Association’s Quest for Quality Prize and its 2021 Carolyn Boone Lewis Equity of Care Award, as well as the 2020 Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Health Equity Award for its efforts to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in care. With a commitment to every community it serves, Atrium Health seeks to improve health, elevate hope and advance healing – for all, providing $2.46 billion last year in free and uncompensated care and other community benefits.

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