As one year ends and another is set to begin, we feel thankful to have the physicians, specialists, nurses, staff, volunteers, resources and community support that allow us to continue working toward our mission of improving the health and well-being of our community by providing outstanding and compassionate care to all. Looking back at 2014, we are proud of all that has been accomplished and all that has changed at WakeMed:
- In May, we officially welcomed our new president and chief operating officer, Donald R. Gintzig. Our entire organization has been re-energized in the wake of his enthusiasm, ideas, and devotion to WakeMed’s mission and vision.
- We also started construction on WakeMed North Hospital, located on our North Healthplex campus. The new hospital is scheduled to open in May 2015 and will be a 61-bed, full-service women’s hospital designed with the unique needs of women in mind. North Hospital will feature amenities tailored to our patients and will offer women of every age throughout northern Wake County, and the surrounding communities, access to a wide variety of exceptional health services.
- In February, we opened our newly renovated and expanded neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Our NICU now offers 48 patient beds, including 27 private rooms. Single-room care in the NICU represents an extension of WakeMed’s focus on patient- and family-centered care to our tiniest patients.
- This year we also implemented the WakeMed MyChart electronic patient record system, a method for our patients to track their medical records, communicate with their doctors, view test results, and request prescription refills and appointments online.
- Throughout the year, our organization and employees were honored with a multitude of awards including, but not limited to, top honors from the American Heart Association and the American Stroke Association for a higher standard of care for our heart and stroke patients; one of our nurses being named to The Great 100 Nurses of North Carolina; the 2014 BEST Award for Commitment to Employee Learning; the Triangle Business Journal’s Women in Business, Healthcare Heroes and Healthiest Employers of the Triangle awards; the Gold Star Award for Implementing Tobacco-Free Best Practices from N.C. Prevention Partners; and the American College of Cardiology’s NCDR ACTION Registry-Get With the Guidelines Platinum Performance Achievement Award for 2014.
- In light of the international Ebola crisis, we trained many employees on Ebola preparedness and readied our hospitals with detailed plans and protocols should the virus come through our doors. In fact, representatives from the North Carolina Division of Public Health, the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) and the North Carolina Office of EMS (NCOEMS) traveled to WakeMed and assessed our Ebola plans. They gave us high compliments for the extensive work and planning that has been completed within our organization and expressed that they feel we are in a very good place with our preparations.
- This summer, we opened the first installment of the WakeMed Farmers’ Market on our Raleigh Campus to employees and local residents. Each summer, the market will offer fruits, vegetables and other locally made goodies in an effort to help promote health and wellness throughout the community.
- Also this summer, we successfully hosted our third WakeMed Scrub Run, a 5K/10K race and community event benefiting WakeMed Children’s.
- And much, much more…
However, during this time, we do not only look back. We look forward to all that 2015 will allow us to offer our patients and this community. We look forward to the opening of the new North Women’s Hospital and to the renovation and expansion of the Women’s Pavilion & Birthplace on our Raleigh Campus. We look forward to another Scrub Run, another Farmers’ Market, and more community events and health screenings. We look forward to helping more parents welcome their new babies into the world and to offering each and every one of our patients outstanding and compassionate care. During this time, we wish you all a happy and healthy 2015 and hope you will remember that we are always here if you need us.
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