According to the latest census, Raleigh added 127,799 residents and Cary added 40,698 in just the past 10 years. In fact, an Associated Press story today named Raleigh as the second fastest growing market in the United States. This tremendous pace of growth requires continued investment in the health care services available to our community.
WakeMed Health & Hospitals, the only hospital system based in Wake County, is committed to meeting the growing health care needs of our community – as we have been doing for the past 50 years. On April 15, WakeMed will submit two applications to the state to add 101 acute care beds divided between WakeMed Raleigh Campus and WakeMed Cary Hospital.
The Need
While WakeMed has continued to expand over the years, it hasn’t been enough to keep pace with the community’s growth, and our beds remain full. Both WakeMed Raleigh Campus and WakeMed Cary Hospital currently operate at occupancy levels far above any other Wake County hospital. With occupancy levels this high, patients often must wait for care due to the limited availability of inpatient beds. WakeMed is proposing the addition of new beds in the most heavily populated areas of the county such as Raleigh and Cary where we already have the existing infrastructure to support added services. This will allow us to grow quickly and efficiently to better meet the community’s needs.
WakeMed’s Value to the Community
WakeMed offers the highest level of health care services in Wake County, including many services exclusively offered by WakeMed. These unique offerings include Wake County’s only: Level 1 Trauma Center, Children’s Emergency Department and Children’s Hospital, Level IV Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and the area’s only inpatient rehabilitation hospital. We are the largest private employer in Wake County, with more than 7,600 employees, nearly 1,000 physicians and over 1,000 volunteers.
How You Can Help
To continue meeting the growing health care needs of this community, we need your help to win this competitive application process.
WakeMed supporters are invited to submit a letter of support for the addition of acute care beds at the WakeMed Raleigh Campus and WakeMed Cary Hospital. Sample support letters can be found online at here. You can also express your support by sending a letter to:
Dr. Bill Atkinson
President & CEO
WakeMed Health & Hospitals
3000 New Bern Ave.
Raleigh, North Carolina 27610
or emailing: CONsupport@wakemed.org
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