History

WakeMed: Our Past, Present and Future

In 1955, the Wake County Board of Commissioners asked voters to authorize a $5 million bond issue to supply funds for construction of a general hospital system that would provide health care services for all Wake County citizens.  In 1961, Memorial Hospital of Wake County opened with 380 beds and 50 doctors on the Medical Staff.  William F. Andrews was chief executive officer.

Today, WakeMed is a private, not-for-profit, multi-facility health system currently operating two full-service acute care hospitals, one of which is a regional tertiary care center in Raleigh and the other a community hospital in Cary; two hospitals providing skilled nursing care and outpatient services; and three facilities providing outpatient rehab services.  More than 1,000 physicians form the Medical Staff at our 752-bed hospital system.

Raymond L. Champ took over the helm of WakeMed in 1983, when he became president and CEO.  He helped turn WakeMed into the world-class facility it is today, encouraging and supporting growth in specialty areas like cardiology, children’s services, women’s services, trauma and rehab.

Over the years and through all the growth and expansion, WakeMed has continued to maintain its mission of treating everyone, regardless of their ability to pay.  WakeMed’s third president and CEO William K. Atkinson II, PhD, who came to WakeMed in 2003, believes wholeheartedly that we are ‘the people’s hospital’.  “We have the responsibility of being a good neighbor in our community,” Atkinson says.  “It’s our job if we’re really committed to wellness and to the people we serve.”