Vidant Health looks to tie its future more closely with East Carolina University

East Carolina University and one of the largest hospital systems in the state have announced the “first step” toward full clinical integration, eyeing a future “ECU Health” that will rival existing partnerships in North Carolina. On Wednesday, the university’s board of trustees approved the appointment of Michael Waldrum, CEO of Vidant Health, as the dean of the Brody School of Medicine at ECU. The appointment will place Waldrum, an internist with training in business, at the head of both Vidant Health and the Brody School of Medicine, the first step and what ECU Chancellor Philip Rogers said was a step towards creating a "clinically integrated academic health system for our region that proudly leverages the ECU brand."