Skin cancer can be very serious and it does not discriminate. Just last week former Pittsburg Steelers coach Bill Cowher lost his wife, Kaye, to skin cancer.  She was only 54 years old. 
One in five Americans will develop skin cancer, a disease which is most prevalent in people over age 30, regardless of race or [...]

Kimberly Elks is the WakeMed stroke program coordinator.
Every Friday in recognition of Stroke Month, we will provide a new tip about stroke prevention.  This week, we are focusing on managing cholesterol.
Next time you think about burgers and fries, think about this: there are many things – including foods high in saturated fat – that can [...]

With the NCAA Tournament scheduled to begin on Thursday, you can expect to find lots of men perched in front on their television sets watching basketball.  Dr. Robert Matthews, a urologist with WakeMed Faculty Physicians, explains why that may be a good time to schedule a vasectomy.

Imagine the opportunity to sit at home and watch [...]

The News & Observer featured a front-page story today about the renewed emphasis on preventing concussions in professional sports like the NHL.  Dr. John Wooten, a pediatric neurologist with Raleigh Neurology, is focused on helping young athletes recover from concussions at the WakeMed Concussion Clinic.  The clinic helps determine when it is safe for a [...]

Tonia Fehr is the manager of WakeMed Cary Hospital’s new 12-bed Chest Pain Unit.
Dick Cheney has a long history with heart disease, suffering his first heart attack at age 37.  Yesterday he was admitted to the hospital again with complaints of chest pain.
Chest pain should always be taken seriously.  It can be a primary symptom [...]

Today is National Go Red Day. 
National Go Red Day is celebrated annually to help raise awareness about the No. 1 killer of women – heart disease. By wearing red on Go Red Day you are fighting to raise awareness of heart disease in women.
In honor of the American Heart Association’s Go Red Day for Women, WakeMed [...]

As of today, WakeMed Health & Hospitals is ending the age-related visitation restrictions (no children under the age of 18 permitted in patient care areas) that were created to help stop the spread of H1N1 flu. As always, visitors should consult WakeMed’s normal policies for visiting adult units, the pediatric unit and critical care units [...]

Yesterday, Dr. Bill Atkinson, president and CEO, and Dr. West Lawson, chief medical officer, partnered to send a message to WakeMed’s 7,600 employees about H1N1. The email encouraged everyone to get vaccinated for H1N1and is applicable to health care workers and the community alike.  Excerpts from follow…
 Dr. West Lawson on H1N1
The H1N1 flu is unlike [...]

Recently Raleigh Cardiology Associates celebrated its 30th anniversary in the WakeMed Heart Center Conference Center.  To mark this occasion, I interviewed Dr. Mark Leithe, cardiologist with Raleigh Cardiology Associates, for his perspective on cardiovascular care in Wake County and how far it has progressed since 1979.
First and foremost, we have seen a precipitous drop in [...]

Julie Stauss Geurink, PharmD, is the Emergency Department Pharmacy Clinical Coordinator, WakeMed Raleigh Campus.  She earned a bachelor in LAS concentrated in Chemistry from University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign and her Doctorate in Pharmacy from the University of Illinois, Chicago. Originally from the suburbs of Chicago, lL., she moved to Raleigh-Durham in October 2009 after working at Mayo Clinic [...]