Baldwin Health Dedicates Wayne T. Smith Atrium, Unveils Transformed Main Lobby with Patient-Centric Experience
10/17/2025
Foley, AL — Baldwin Health is proud to announce the grand opening and dedication of the Wayne T. Smith Atrium, its newly redeveloped main lobby, with full patient use beginning Monday, October 20, 2025. This milestone marks a powerful step forward in the hospital’s mission to deliver health care with compassion, efficiency, and a future-focused vision for the Baldwin County region.
The Wayne T. Smith Atrium is a bold reinvention of how patients and visitors begin their care journey. The redesigned space streamlines check-in, improves wayfinding, and introduces a modern classroom and multipurpose area to support health education, community outreach, and staff training.
The dedication event drew an exceptional turnout from across the community. Members of the Community Health Systems (CHS) board of directors joined the Baldwin Health board of directors, hospital leadership, physicians, staff and local Chamber of Commerce representatives to celebrate this significant investment in enhancing patient experience and expanding access to care.
This new atrium continues the upward trajectory established when the hospital opened its South Tower in fall 2024, which expanded inpatient capacity and technology across multiple departments. Together, the South Tower and the Wayne T. Smith Atrium create a stronger, more connected front door to care—supporting Baldwin Health’s expanding ability to serve more patients, more seamlessly, every day. Foley remains the fastest-growing city in Alabama and among the top-ten fastest-growing cities in the nation; Baldwin Health is growing with it, increasing access and elevating the experience of care.
“Every feature of this new lobby was designed with our patients in mind,” said Margaret Roley, CEO of Baldwin Health. “Through the Wayne T. Smith Atrium, we are welcoming our neighbors with dignity, clarity, and comfort—opening new doors for learning, connection, and healing. This space stands as a daily reminder of our commitment to expanding access, enhancing the patient experience, and investing in an environment that fosters both health and human dignity.”
Key features & benefits of the Wayne T. Smith Atrium:
- Streamlined check-in and optimized patient flow to reduce wait times and congestion
- Clear, intuitive wayfinding and welcoming, patient-centered design
- Flexible classroom/multipurpose space for health education, community programs and staff development
- Seamless connection to the South Tower and core clinical areas for easier navigation and access
With the lobby opening on October 20, Baldwin Health invites patients, providers and the public to begin benefiting immediately from the new facility. The Atrium is not merely an upgrade—it’s a daily demonstration of how care starts the moment someone walks through the door.
About Wayne T. Smith
Wayne T. Smith is the executive chairman of Community Health Systems (CHS), based in Tennessee. He holds degrees from Auburn University (BS in education, 1968; MEd in educational administration, 1969) and a master’s degree in healthcare administration from Trinity University (1972). He has served the State of Alabama on the Board of Trustees, reflecting a career dedicated to leadership in education and health care.
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