Wakemed

Cardiovascular - wakemed's heart and vascular program is one of the largest and most comprehensive cardiovascular programs in the state of north carolina. This year, 18,442 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. In fiscal year 2024, our cardiac patients included 61.2% who were insured under medicare, 7.3% who were insured under medicaid, and 2.8% who were uninsured (or "self-pay or charity care"). 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 a three star rating from the society of thoracic surgeons, is rated a top 50 cardiovascular hospital by ibm watson health, and received the 2021 cigna center of excellence designation for heart surgery & cardiac catheterization and angioplasty. Wakemed is the first us health care system to implement enhanced recovery after cardiac surgery, which cause it to be the first hospital to be named a center of excellence by the eras society. 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 fy2024, the team transported 22,165 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 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 heart & vascular provides numerous opportunities for heart health education and cpr training in the commuity. One of our key outreach programs is cpr anytime. This program is provided at multiple locations in wake county throughout the year and the cpr anytime kits are provided at no cost to participants. Wakemed does make the opportunity for donations available to help underwrite some of the cost and allow the program to continue to grow. Donations cover less than 5% of the overall cost.

Emergency services - 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 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. Wakemed cary hospital emergency department is a level iii trauma center. Our trauma services include 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 24, 15.5% of our total emergency patients were insured under medicare; 30.7% were insured under medicaid; and 11.4% were uninsured self-pay/charity care. Over 42% of all patients seen in our emergency departments are either medicaid or uninsured patient, resulting in wakemed providing care of an estimated 70.2% of wake county's uninsured and medicaid patients. All stand-alone locations serve areas which are otherwise underserved.