Causes: Community Health Systems, Health, Hospitals, Rehabilitative Care, Reproductive Health Care, Reproductive Rights

Mission: The mission of wakemed is to improve the health and well-being of our community with outstanding and compassionate care to all.

Programs: Surgical services - wakemed provides surgical services in four locations throughout the county: wakemed raleigh campus, wakemed cary hospital, wakemed north, and capital city surgery, of which wakemed is a majority investor. By delivering surgical services to all who seek care regardless of their ability to pay and by having inpatient and outpatient services in three distinct locations throughout the county, wakemed has improved access to these needed services. Wakemed's wide range of surgical specialties include bariatric, cardiovascular and thoracic, ent, head and neck, adult and pediatric gastrointestinal, general, neurosurgery, obstetrics and gynecology, orthopedics, pediatric, urology, and vascular. As wake county's only state designated level 1 trauma center, wakemed provides comprehensive trauma surgery for general, orthopedic, neurosurgery, and vascular trauma patients. Because access to specialty care continues to be a key health concern facing our community, wakemed has expanded its network of specialists through wakemed physicians who provide subspecialty care to the uninsured and underinsured in our community. Our staff works with the patient to discount their fees based on individual income and need. Many physicians on the medical staff continue this practice of providing quality care to patients regardless of their ability to pay. Last year, our surgical patients included 32. 2% who were insured under medicare, 13. 5% who were insured under medicaid and 7. 4% who were uninsured (or "self-pay or charity care").

emergency - a critical issue facing wake county residents continues to be access to affordable health care. To address this challenge, wakemed has strategically placed six full-service, emergency departments in key geographic areas throughout the county in raleigh, cary, north raleigh, apex, brier creek, and garner. Located in raleigh, wakemed also operates the only children's emergency department in the county. Because physician availability is key to opening up access to care, wakemed's physician practices, healthplexes, and outpatient services are conveniently positioned through the area. Wakemed is among the top three volume providers of emergency care in north carolina. Wakemed's raleigh campus is also home to wake county's only level 1 trauma center, the highest designation awarded to trauma centers in north carolina. Our trauma service includes a comprehensive research program, injury prevention programs, fellowship trained trauma surgeons on-site 24/7, a multi-disciplinary team of professionals, the clinical support of six adult intensive care units and a pediatric intensive care unit, as well as a comprehensive acute, inpatient and outpatient physical rehabilitation program. Wakemed's emergency and trauma services treat all patients who present seeking medical care, regardless of their ability to pay. In fy 2017, 18. 5% of our total emergency patients were insured under medicare; 27. 6% were insured under medicaid; and 17. 0% were uninsured self-pay/charity care. Over 45% of all patients seen in our emergency departments are either medicaid or uninsured patient, resulting in wakemed providing care of an estimated 70% of wake county's uninsured and medicaid patients. All stand-alone locations serve areas which are otherwise underserved by dedicated medical services.

heart center - wakemed's heart and vascular program is one of the largest and most comprehensive cardiovascular programs in the state of north carolina. Last year, 16,292 cardiovascular procedures were performed including surgery, diagnostic and interventional cardiac catheterizations and electrophysiology studies. Thousands more patients were treated medically as in- and outpatients throughout the system. Wakemed health & hospitals has consistently been nationally recognized for excellence in both stroke and heart care. Wakemed raleigh campus and wakemed cary hospital received recognition from the american heart association and the american stroke association through their "get with the guidelines (gwtg)" awards, each earning gold plus achievement awards for both stroke care and for heart failure care. These recognitions signify that wakemed has reached an aggressive goal of treating both stroke and heart failure patients according to the guidelines of care recommended by the american stroke association, american heart association, and american college of cardiology. Both wakemed cary hospital and wakemed raleigh campus received chest pain center accreditation by the society of cardiovascular patient care, and both received the joint commission advanced certification for primary stroke center. In addition, wakemed raleigh campus received the silver level award as a referring hospital from the american heart association's mission lifeline. Wakemed health & hospitals was also designated a blue distinction center for cardiac care by bluecross blueshield of nc. A key support service for our community, wakemed mobile critical care services is a comprehensive medical transport program that improves access to acute care and facilitates transport into, out of and across the health care system. Wakemed mobile critical care services transports patients throughout the region and state. In 2017, the team transported 18,423 patients. Wakemed's heart center has made significant strides in programs and services aiming to reduce heart disease and diabetes, improve stroke outcomes and improve patients' understanding of disease management. We know that teaching patients about their risk factors for heart disease and encouraging healthy behaviors through lifestyle changes builds a foundation for a healthier population. Thus, the wakemed heart center provides a comprehensive continuum of care for the cardiac patient from outreach education and prevention to diagnosis, intervention, surgery, cardiac rehabilitation and ongoing disease management for heart failure and diabetes. Free education programs are offered regularly for our patients, their family members and the community to complement our comprehensive care services. Because the fastest intervention provides the best outcomes, all of wakemed's emergency departments are certified chest pain centers. Wakemed raleigh campus and cary hospital are designated primary stroke centers. Additionally, wakemed's heart center provides free health screenings throughout the community including cholesterol screenings, blood pressure checks, vascular screenings and stroke assessments. These screenings are designed to be a secondary prevention activity to detect early onset of disease or illness. Wakemed conducts training for the program cpr anytime at multiple locations in wake county and provides cpr anytime kits throughout the community at more than a 70% discounted cost. Last fiscal year, 41. 9% of cardiac patients were insured under medicare, 10. 5% were insured under medicaid, and 10. 6% of these patients were uninsured.