WakeMed Innovations
Contact Us
Diana Rhyne,
Executive Director,
Research & Innovation
Stuart Ginn,
Medical Director,
Innovations
Casey Granack,
Manager,
Innovations
It all starts with an idea.
WakeMed Innovations provides an opportunity for a wide variety of people to transform their ideas into real-world solutions. We're focused on designing new approaches that address the unmet needs of our patients and families, our clinicians, our staff and the community. By demonstrating the integral role that community hospitals play in improving health and wellness through innovation, WakeMed is aiming to discover new ways to transform the delivery of health care. We provide a space for our staff and other interested parties to present and execute forward-facing ways to generate progressive, actionable ideas in the Wake County community.
Why WakeMed Innovations
There are three main objectives for WakeMed Innovations: resource internal innovators, source innovative opportunities for investment and facilitate external innovation.
- The first objective is to resource our internal innovators to allow for our staff to present and execute forward-facing ways to generate progressive, actionable ideas to support the WakeMed system. This may include the following:
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- finding existing solutions to problems,
- connecting employees to staff in other departments who can provide a viable solution,
- considering the viability of employee ideas to come to resolution and
- funding fail quick testing.
- The second objective is sourcing innovative opportunities for investment. We work to find investment opportunities that strategically benefit WakeMed, in particular our patients and families.
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- For example, recently, we invested in Go Check Kids, which is an eye screening device for pediatric patients. The role of WakeMed Innovations is not simply to validate that the need is strategically aligned with WakeMed, when considering a company for our investment portfolio, but also to acknowledge that the need may impact WakeMed patients, family and staff.
- The third objective is to help facilitate external ideas that impact our region.
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- Beyond investing in companies, WakeMed Innovations also form partnerships with other companies, such as NC Biotech and NCSU, to help facilitate regional innovation.
WakeMed Innovations brings subject-matter expertise, customer perspective, potential pilot and customer relationships. This benefits the investor process through improved due diligence, insight regarding the sales and implementation cycle, customer validation and credibility to lower risk of investment. This further benefits the portfolio company through insights from relevant experts, customer knowledge to improve the sales pitch, opportunities for product validation and early traction.
Hatteras Venture Partners are essential in their offering of a strong co-investor network, due diligence, deal negotiation, governance and oversight. The benefits to the investment process include high quality deal flow and ability to lead the deal, drive for deal terms, influence the outcome and harvest returns. The benefits to the portfolio company showcase as a strong investor network for future capital raises, a relationship that could lead to a sales opportunity and an engaged board member with operational experience.
WakeMed Innovations successfully leads in five critical areas:
- Bi-weekly deal flow
- Dedicated WakeMed Innovations team
- Support from WakeMed senior leadership
- Independent investment committees at Hatteras
- Fund management and back offic capabilities
410 Medical 
- Blood Warmer prototype undergoing human factor testing currently; FDA submission to follow
Avivomed 
- An implantable pulse generator to compete in the Obstructive Sleep Apnea market pioneered by Inspire Medical
GoCheckKids 
- Smartphone based digital vision screening platform that helps physicians detect risk factors for amblyopia, the leading cause of blindness in children
Gozio Health 
- Patient-centered digital wayfinding application and digital front door capabilities for health systems
SafeRide Health 
- Convenient, non-emergency medical transportation for people needing transportation
Our Projects
WakeMed Innovations is proud to support WakeMed’s Strategic Plan and our Innovation Aspirational goal of achieving transformative improvements in health care and health care delivery.
Great ideas come from all over our community.
Engaging researchers, clinicians and staff from across the enterprise and across the globe – because we know how to help you transform your ideas into reality.
Have an idea?
