Newsletter 4/8: Inside Charlotte’s private cadaver lab
Newsletter 4/8: Inside Charlotte’s private cadaver lab
Plus: Developer seeks tax incentives for uptown apartments; City council member's band in music festival lineup; Blumenthal Arts launches immersive center; Myers Park student killed in crash
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Near Charlotte’s airport, Experience Anatomy opens hands-on human dissections to local massage therapists, yoga teachers and others; a destination for medical training
Typically, cadaver labs are places for medical students. But at Experience Anatomy, customers ranging from yoga instructors to nurses pay $175 for a 4-hour session to explore the human body. (Photo by Michelle Crouch)
by Michelle Crouch
Co-published with N.C. Health News
In a nondescript office building near the Charlotte airport last month, adults in blue gowns crowded around the body of a woman who had died of cardiovascular disease. An instructor gently pressed her gloved finger against the woman’s lung and invited the others to do the same.
“If you’ve never felt a lung, you need to feel a lung,” she said. “Most people think lungs are like a balloon, but they are more like a kitchen sponge. They have millions of tiny air sacs.”
Later, the class felt the stones in the cadaver’s gall bladder and took turns holding her heart in their hands.
“Wow, that’s amazing,” one woman whispered when she was handed the heart. Another person compared the organ’s texture to the velvety skin of a stingray.
None of the people in the lab were doctors or medical students. They were participants in the Dissection Club at Experience Anatomy, a private cadaver lab that offers nurses, yoga teachers, massage therapists and others deeply interested in anatomy an opportunity to dissect the human body.
In the past, cadaver dissections were mostly reserved for doctors and medical students. But Jamie Decker, founder and CEO of Experience Anatomy, believes the experience should be accessible to everyone, especially students and professionals who work on living people’s bodies.
“I’ve seen so many people have an ‘aha’ moment in the cadaver lab, young and old alike. Why not allow more people to have that experience?” Decker said.
An unusual Christmas gift
There are other cadaver labs in Charlotte and across the state, including one at Atrium Health Mercy. Most are part of medical schools or physician residency programs and are used only for medical students and healthcare industry training programs.
On the night a Ledger/NC Health News reporter visited Experience Anatomy, the 15-person class included a yoga teacher, a physical therapist, a nurse, a reflexologist, an acupuncturist and seven massage therapists. They said dissection gives them a deeper understanding of the body so they can better serve their patients or clients.
“It helps me understand what I’m seeing and feeling when I work on patients,” said Katie Hopkins, 33, a repeat participant who is a massage therapist, movement educator and owner of Align & Spiral in Charlotte.
Also participating was Providence Day School student Emma Adams, 18, who plans to go into forensic pathology, and Judy Hannon, a 49-year-old museum conservator from Maryland. Hannon said she asked for the experience as a Christmas gift.
“If I had a more scientific mind, I would have done mortuary science or forensic pathology,” said Hannon, whose background is in art. “I think it’s absolutely fascinating. I was blown away by each layer we removed.”
Inspired by Body Worlds exhibit
Decker said her interest in tissue preservation was sparked in high school when she visited the Body Worlds exhibit that visited Discovery Place Science in 2007. The traveling exhibit uses real human bodies that have been preserved using a technique known as plastination.
Decker went on to get a degree in mortuary science. From 2012 to 2014, she ran the gross anatomy lab at Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk. There, she often worked with health care companies who rented the lab (and its cadavers) on evenings and weekends for training physicians on new techniques and implants, she said.
“It opened up my mind to what’s out there and what’s needed in this industry,” she said. “I started playing around with chemicals and preservation techniques.”
In 2014, when her husband’s job moved them to Charlotte, which had no medical school, Decker took a job teaching anatomy at Central Piedmont Community College. She often used preserved body parts to teach her students.
She knew others could benefit from more hands-on exposure to anatomy, so two years later, she opened Experience Anatomy to make body parts available for teaching and training. It quickly became apparent that there was a greater demand for human tissue for making incisions and practicing procedures.
In 2018, the company launched a foundation that could accept whole-body donations and spread the word to local funeral directors, hospice organizations and social workers. The foundation’s program is unusual because the bodies remain in its custody throughout the process, Decker said.
“Because we aren’t a so-called ‘body broker,’ we have more connection with the families,” she said. “Sometimes, we even hand-deliver ashes to them. We are really trying to change the image of the industry.”
Experience Anatomy opened its 5,000-square-foot cadaver lab in 2020. The company received about 120 whole-body donations last year, mostly from North and South Carolina. It now gets almost all of its tissue from its own donation program, Decker said.
New embalming technique
Traditionally, human tissue is preserved with formaldehyde, which has an off-putting smell you might remember from your high school science lab.
Experience Anatomy uses a proprietary soft embalming technique that Decker developed that leaves bodies soft and flexible, without the smell.
The technique has helped attract what has become Experience Anatomy’s bread-and-butter business: industry groups that use cadavers to train physicians and other health care providers on medical procedures and inserting medical devices.
Clients include well-known medical device companies, pain management clinics, EMS and fire departments, and the U.S. Department of Defense, which uses the cadavers for military surgical training. Decker said the lab’s annual revenues have doubled in each of the past few years.
Greensboro physician Scott MacDiarmid, who recently led a medical device training at Experience Anatomy, said it isn’t like most other cadaver labs, where odors can be nausea-inducing and fresh-frozen tissue sometimes deteriorates rapidly.
“Dating back to my days as a medical student, cadaver labs were like, ‘Eww, who wants to do that?’” he said. “Here, you come in, and the lab is beautiful and comfortable. The scent and the quality of the tissue is good. The cadavers really do mimic a human that’s alive.”
‘Meeting’ the donors at Dissection Club
Regardless of corporate demand, Experience Anatomy will continue to make hands-on anatomy accessible to all, Decker said.
To keep costs down for Dissection Club ($175 for a four-hour session), the lab relies on tissue previously used for medical training. Sometimes only portions of bodies are available.
But on the night The Ledger/NC Health News attended, two whole cadavers were laid out on gurneys: a man who was face down, and a woman who was face up, with a cloth covering her face.
After the participants donned gowns and two pairs of gloves, instructor Fauna Moore said it was time to “meet the donors.”
She led the class in a moment of silence to honor them, urging participants to be “gracious recipients of the gift.” She explained that every piece of tissue would be saved and cremated, and the remains returned to their families. “So we are just an extra step in the process,” she said.
The class reviewed a short medical history of each donor, and then Moore demonstrated how to carefully dissect layers of skin, fat and muscle using a scalpel and forceps.
“Take your time,” Moore said. “The slower you go, the more you will see.”
A far cry from anatomy textbook pictures
More than half of those present had attended the club before. They grabbed scalpels and went to work.
A reflexologist with an interest in plantar fasciitis focused on the foot and calf of the face-down donor.
Therapeutic massage therapist Karina Marquez, 29, painstakingly dissected the layers in the cadaver’s wrist and hand. Marquez said she was hoping to find ways to ease pain for one of her patients, who suffered from a disorder called trigger finger.
Moore walked around the room, pausing to share insight or a better technique. “That’s the medial nerve right there,” she told Marquez, pointing to a yellowish cord-like structure in the wrist. “It’s one of nine structures passing through this canal.”
Meanwhile, lab assistant Melanie Bebler guided a group on the other cadaver as they slowly exposed various anatomical structures.
The participants marveled at the amount of globby yellow fat they had to remove to get to the abdominal cavity, and several remarked that the tangle of organs and muscles they uncovered looked nothing like the colorful drawings in anatomy textbooks.
“It’s really hard to tell what’s what,” one said.
An unforgettable unveiling
Emily Button, 34, a medical massage therapist from Salisbury, said she felt a little queasiness when the class first started. “I kept reminding myself that it’s the shell, and the spirit is not there anymore,” she said.
As the session progressed, however, Button seemed to get more comfortable, eventually picking up a scalpel and doing some dissecting on an interior shoulder.
Hopkins, the massage therapist, said she was surprised at the spiritual dimension of the experience. “It makes you ask yourself, what is life? There is something that illuminates and animates tissue in life, and this makes me appreciate whatever that force is,” she said.
The session ended with an unforgettable moment — a look at the human brain. To get to it, Moore had to use a small power saw to cut through the skull. That may have been the most disconcerting moment of the night.
Finally, about 20 minutes past the session’s stated end time, and after much effort, Moore managed to pull off a section of skull, unveiling the brain. The room fell silent for the first time after four hours of near-constant conversation.
Together, the group peered at the folds and grooves of the brain, wondering at the mysteries of consciousness and cognition that make us human.
Michelle Crouch covers health care. Reach her at mcrouch@northcarolinahealthnews.org.
This article is part of a partnership between The Ledger and North Carolina Health News to produce original health care reporting focused on the Charlotte area. We make these articles available free to all. For more information, or to support this effort with a tax-free gift, click here.
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Developer seeks up to $19M in tax incentives to convert old Duke Energy HQ into apartments; commissioners skeptical
The new owner of the former Duke Energy headquarters building uptown is proposing that the city and county give tax breaks of up to $19M to transform the old office building into apartments.
At a meeting last week of the county’s economic development committee, Welch Liles, a managing director of Asana Partners, said that the plan to convert the office building into 448 apartments and retail space would represent a “first-of-its-kind conversion opportunity in Charlotte” — but that it can’t be done without a “partnership” with Mecklenburg County and the city of Charlotte. [Edited 4/9/24 to correct title of Liles]
The former Duke Energy headquarters at 526 S. Church St. (left) would be converted into 448 apartments and retail space, under plans by Asana Partners and MRP Realty (right). (Photo and rendering from Asana presentation to county commissioners)
He said Asana and owner MRP Realty are seeking a tax-increment grant of 45% of property taxes over 15 years and that the precise amount is still under discussion. The grants are intended to more than pay for themselves through increased property tax revenues. The city and county typically use such grants for transformational projects, such as the Dilworth/Midtown medical innovation district The Pearl and for the mixed-use Ballantyne Reimagined development.
It would be unusual to draw on such a grant program to build apartments, but city economic development officials and uptown boosters have said it could be one way to help pump new life into the older and mostly empty office buildings uptown. The old Duke building opened in 1975.
Even with the cost of the grants, the city and county would collect more than $10M more in property taxes than they would if the redevelopment doesn’t go forward, Liles said. The developers would spend an estimated $251M on the project, which would increase the property’s tax value by nearly five times.
“We feel like this is a first-of-its-kind opportunity to partner with both Mecklenburg County and the city of Charlotte to help address the concerns in vacancy moving forward,” he said. He called the building “obsolete,” “antiquated” and “less-than-welcoming.”
The meeting marked the first time that developers publicly discussed the level of government grants they are seeking. (An article last month in the Charlotte Business Journal cited an unnamed source estimating the amount at $10M to $20M.)
MRP bought the building, at the corner of Brooklyn Village Avenue and Church Street, in December 2022 for $35M. It originally announced it would convert the site to a mix of apartments, office space and retail, with no mention of seeking government assistance. It later dropped plans for the offices and scaled back some of the apartments.
In January, it won first place in a design contest by Charlotte Center City Partners that encouraged devising creative uses for outdated office space, at the same time that city economic development officials started laying the groundwork for incentives to help old office buildings. City council members have sounded open to the idea.
Commissioners at last week’s meeting, though, largely sounded skeptical of the plans and questioned whether the redevelopment would advance goals of economic mobility and reducing racial disparities. —TM
Blumenthal to open new immersive ‘pillar of programming’ at Charlotte former Pipe and Foundry plant; Up first: outer space via virtual reality
Blumenthal Arts will launch a new immersive space in September in a warehouse it’s renting at the former Charlotte Pipe and Foundry location off West Morehead Street near uptown.
The first immersive experience at the location will be “Space Explorers: The Infinite,” which Blumenthal Arts described in a news release this morning: “Through the transformative lens of immersive VR, you'll be transported 250 miles above Earth into the International Space Station.” (Tickets are $29.95 to $69.95. The exhibit will run from Sept. 20 to Nov. 10.)
With the “Space Explorers: The Infinite” exhibit, Blumenthal is launching Blume Studios, “a new pillar of programming,” according to the news release, that “will focus on the intersection of technology, the arts and community.”
Blumenthal Arts, which until a January rebranding went by the name Blumenthal Performing Arts, has been working to add immersive experiences to its offerings in the last several years, with experiences ranging from the Immersive Van Gogh exhibit at Camp North End in 2021 to the Charlotte International Arts Festival that will return for a third year in September.
Blumenthal CEO Tom Gabbard has said that the organization has been searching for a Charlotte spot that could hold immersive public art events, live performances and educational programming.
The 56-acre former Charlotte Pipe and Foundry plant is being rebranded into a site called the “Iron District.” It was home to a pipe factory for more than a century, and in recent years has been speculated to be a possible future home for a Carolina Panthers football stadium. Blumenthal is the Iron District’s first tenant, according to the news release.
Last fall, Charlotte Pipe and Foundry opened a new $640M plant in Oakboro, 30 miles east of Charlotte. —CB
City councilman and his band will take the Lovin’ Life Music Festival stage next month; will event set Charlotte up to ‘become better than Nashville’?
Next month, music lovers will descend on uptown to see artists like Stevie Nicks and Post Malone perform at the Lovin’ Life Music Fest in uptown. Also on the lineup: a Charlotte city council member.
Tariq Bokhari, who represents District 6 in south Charlotte, is set to perform with his recently formed ’90s rock cover band called Da704.
The Lovin’ Life Music Fest, which will run May 3-5 and is being organized by Charlotte-based Southern Entertainment event and production company, will have one of its three stages dedicated to Charlotte-area performers. Some 90,000 attendees are expected in the 20-acre festival site in uptown’s First Ward neighborhood.
At the other two stages, artists including Stevie Nicks, Post Malone, Noah Kahan, DaBaby and 40 others will take the stage.
“Da704 is going to be saying that Post Malone opened for us,” Bokhari joked in an interview with The Ledger.
Bokhari said he expects the festival to become an annual attraction, “and it’s going to potentially take us into a spot of, over time, becoming better than Nashville" because of its emphasis on local music.
Bokhari is the band’s lead singer and guitarist, along with five other core group members. They perform covers of bands like Pearl Jam, Stone Temple Pilots and Cake.
Lovin’ Life will be the second time Da704 has performed for an audience, Bokhari said.
The name comes from a Call of Duty video game group Bokhari formed during the pandemic, which included then-city council member Larken Egleston and Charlotte Business Journal publisher T.J. McCullough. (Neither Egleston nor McCullough is in the band.) The name is also obviously a nod to the city’s area code. —LB
[Article edited 3 p.m. on 4/8/24 to correct the band’s name]
Headlines from last week that you might have missed
Last week, The Ledger ran a special series of articles focused on second acts — telling the stories of five people who made big life changes, and the lessons they learned from the experiences of starting new businesses and heading new directions.
It was also spring break for local public schools, and a lot of people were out of town.
Here are some of the top news stories from last week that you might have missed:
Vanguard buys Centene campus
Vanguard has purchased the massive 91-acre former Centene office campus in University City for $117M, with plans to make it a regional campus for its Charlotte-area workforce. The campus was originally designed to hold 6,000 workers for the Centene healthcare company, but that plan was scrapped in August 2022. Vanguard says the campus will open for workers in late 2025. (Axios Charlotte; The Ledger reported March 1 that Vanguard was thought to be eyeing the site.)
Hornets head coach to step down
Steve Clifford is stepping down as head coach of the Charlotte Hornets at the end of the season. Clifford will coach the team for their final seven games but decided not to commit to coaching for the 2024-25 season citing personal reasons and to allow the Hornets to pursue other coaching options. (ESPN)
New cathedral envisioned
The Diocese of Charlotte plans to build a new cathedral to replace the current St. Patrick Cathedral, which church leaders say is no longer large enough to meet the diocese’s needs. Construction is not set to begin until 2030. One area that’s being considered is the diocese’s pastoral center on South Church Street near uptown. (Catholic News Herald)
In memoriam
Former Mecklenburg County Manager Jerry Fox passed away March 27 at age 91. Fox played a crucial role as the county’s top executive from 1980 to 2000, overseeing the transformation of uptown Charlotte and building a strong local workforce. (Observer)
Developers settle lawsuit
Daniel Levine and David Miller, two Charlotte developers embroiled in a legal battle over a stalled development in south Charlotte, reached a settlement after a trial began late last month. The legal dispute, which began in 2019, centered around ownership and development plans for an 11-acre site that was formerly the Carmel on Providence apartments. Levine, of Levine Properties, will now own the property outright. (Ledger online)
New Ally CEO
Ally Financial has announced Michael Rhodes as its new CEO, succeeding former CEO Jeffery Brown, who left to join Hendrick Automotive Group. Rhodes, previously CEO of Discover Financial Services, has more than 25 years of experience in retail and consumer banking. Rhodes will lead Ally from its Charlotte offices starting April 29. (Biz Journal subscriber-only)
Brewery troubles
Cornelius-based D9 Brewing Co. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. (Biz Journal) And Weathered Souls, a Black-owned brewery in South End, closed on April 6. (QCity Metro)
You might be interested in these Charlotte events
Events submitted by readers to The Ledger’s events board:
TUESDAY, APRIL 9: Food, Inc. 2 – One-Night-Only Theatrical Screening Event, 7:00 p.m. to 9:15 p.m. at The Independent Picture House, Charlotte. Join IPH for a special screening of FOOD, INC. 2, exploring our food system's challenges. Followed by a talk with Carolina Farm Trust CEO Zach Wyatt. Carolina Farm Trust’s mission is to strengthen local food systems in the Carolinas, from production to consumption. $12.45.
THURSDAY, MAY 16: Night at the Museum, 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at First Ward Park, Charlotte. Night at the Museum is Carolina Farm Trust's 5th Annual Nonprofit Fundraiser. This year, in partnership with ArtPop Street Gallery, Carolina Farm Trust will work with local chefs and artists to curate an outdoor museum to celebrate food, drinks and community. $25-$100. If there are folks who would like to attend, but cost is a barrier, please reach out to info@carolinafarmtrust.org.
SUNDAY, MAY 19: Mental Health Matters 5K & Festival, 10:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at McAlpine Creek Park, Charlotte. Mental Health Matters 5K & Festival is a powerful movement to create awareness and reduce stigma in a fun, inviting way. It’s an event, for all of Charlotte, to come together & make a difference! There will be over 60 vendors, live music, food trucks, a zoo and yoga. There will be something for everyone! The festival is free. $40 (5K), ($15 kids run).
◼️ Check out the full Ledger events board.
➡️ List your event on the Ledger events board.
In brief
Charlotte student dies, 2 others injured in Asheville crash: A Myers Park High School student died and two Charlotte Catholic High School students were in intensive care Sunday after a car accident near Asheville. Sophie Gordon, 16, died, as did Robert Fox of Wilmette, Ill.. Charlotte Catholic held a prayer vigil Sunday night for its two students who were seriously injured in the crash, juniors Abby Lyn Robinson and Isabella Tarantelli. Troopers said the car the teens were riding in struck a tree at an exit off I-40. (WSOC)
Cloudy eclipse? Forecasts show an increasing chance of clouds for this afternoon’s solar eclipse, which will peak in Charlotte at 3:12 p.m., when the sun will be 80% obscured. Experts warn not to look up to view the eclipse without proper eclipse glasses to block the sun’s harmful rays. (WCNC)
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