While the past may be gone, it is never forgotten.Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist — Winston East is now the Kennedy-Hopkins medical building. The facility at 2295 E. 14th St. was renamed to honor late Drs. Charlie Kennedy and Larry Hopkins.

Kennedy was the first — and for 20 years — the only Black pediatrician in Winston-Salem. He opened a practice that served the community in the east part of the city.

Kennedy also mentored Hopkins, who became the first Black Winstonian to graduate from Wake Forest University with a degree in chemistry. He co-led the Women's Health Center, which focused on improving prenatal care and reducing infant mortality for Black women in Winston-Salem. Dr. Hopkins wasn't just brains, the running back led the Demon Deacons football team to their first back-to-back conference championships.

The doctors' names are not only on the exterior of the facility, a plaque inside honors their contributions. | Photo by Garrett Garms via Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist

AHWFB will expand the existing pediatric and occupational medicine services to better serve the needs of the community, starting on Monday, July 1. The medical facility will offer internal medicine + women’s services, and has an on-site lab and a pharmacy.

New patients can make appointments by calling the practices directly or through the patient online portal. Patients who cannot afford health insurance or who don't qualify for government assistance can receive free services during WFU School of Medicine’s DEAC (Delivering Equal Access to Care) clinic on Monday evenings at the East Winston location. Students and physicians will provide primary care along with other specialty services.