Carolinas HealthCare System's evolution: Public hospital with private attitude

Only 30 years ago, Carolinas HealthCare System was a charity hospital called Charlotte Memorial—a crowded, dreary place that lost money every year because most of its patients couldn't pay their bills. Today, the nonprofit system owns or manages about 30 hospitals, has nearly $7 billion in revenue and pays top executives millions of dollars. It's the largest employer in Mecklenburg County and the nation's second-largest public hospital system. The transformation amazes even hospital leaders who decided that, to survive, they needed to attract paying patients as well as the uninsured.