Trauma Centers

Trauma isn’t something you plan for. It’s unexpected. In the blink of an eye, your life, or the life of someone you love, can be changed forever. A car accident, a fall, fire or drowning — the list of possible traumatic events is endless. And the toll it takes on a family can last a lifetime. 

So, while you may not be planning for trauma, we are. As Wake County’s only provider of trauma services and a regional trauma referral center, our two trauma centers — a Level I Trauma Center at Raleigh Campus and a Level III Trauma Center at Cary Hospital — and the WakeMed Trauma teams are standing ready to provide immediate care for the seriously injured.

Our Team

Our emergency physicians, nurses and trauma surgeons are responsible for the management of major trauma. They are supported by a wide variety specialists and professionals, including:

• Orthopaedists
• Neurosurgeons
• Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons
• Respiratory Therapists
• Nurse Technicians
• Radiology Technicians
• Chaplains
• Social Workers

 

Our Locations/Support

We offer a hospital-wide system of services specifically designed to serve patients with life-threatening injuries. It includes:

Raleigh Campus

• Five adult intensive care units
• A pediatric intensive care unit
• Comprehensive acute, inpatient and outpatient physical rehabilitation
• A separate Obstetrical Emergency Department in the Women’s Pavilion & Birthplace

Cary Hospital

• An adult intensive care unit and dedicated surgical inpatient unit
• A 24-7 emergency department with a dedicated trauma room for evaluation and care.
• A separate Obstetrical Emergency Department in the Women’s Pavilion & Birthplace
• Inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation support

 

Our Goal

As a regional trauma center, WakeMed strives to save the lives of the seriously injured and ultimately return them back to productivity. To do so, WakeMed works closely with Emergency Medical Services, other first responders and surrounding medical care facilities in the first hours after injury to ensure patients have rapid access to the highest level of medical care. The emergency room evaluation, operative care, critical care, acute care and rehabilitative care have all been integrated to optimize survival and provide the best outcomes possible.

Research & Prevention

For our Raleigh Campus Level I Trauma Center, the highest designation available, WakeMed is committed to providing life-saving treatment when time matters the most. But that’s not enough. In addition to treating injury, we are even more interested in preventing injury through our research and prevention efforts. 

Research

Our Trauma Team is involved with innovative research that leads to better trauma care, helpful prevention strategies and more favorable outcomes for patients. We work with community partners to develop new and better emergency services and trauma protocols that lead to improved health care to citizens across the region. Much of this research has garnered national and even international attention, reflecting the hard work, diligence and excellent professional standards of our team.

Prevention

Anybody can get hurt — accidents happen all the time. But some people are at higher risk for injury, including the very young, elderly, underfunded and underserved populations. While WakeMed’s Trauma Center reaches out to everyone with its injury prevention efforts, special emphasis is placed on reaching these populations that suffer disproportionately from injury. 

Injury Prevention Programs

For Children

WakeMed serves as the lead agency for Safe Kids Wake County, a nonprofit child safety advocacy group whose mission is to prevent or reduce the severity of unintentional injury to children under 14 years old. Through Safe Kids and our team of injury prevention experts we offer programs for kids and families focused on:

• Bike and helmet safety
• Car seat safety
• Pedestrian safety
• Fire safety
• Water safety
• Poison prevention
• Falls prevention
• Firearm safety
• Choking prevention
• Sports safety
• Home safety
• Emergency access training

For Adults & Families

• Substance abuse specialist intervention for inpatient injury patients
• First aid and safety classes for the entire family through our Birth & Education team, including:
  • CPR (infant and adult)
  • Safe Sitter
  • Grandbabies class

For the Elderly

• Fire and falls prevention
• Medication error prevention
• Driver safety