Wake Forest Baptist Health

In late July my father underwent cancer surgery at Wake Forest. My family and I were fearful of the procedure, and his surgeon was thoroughly reassuring and we were well informed as things progressed. We are grateful that my father is recovering from the equivalent of five-​operations-​in-​one without incident. Unfortunately, this otherwise positive experience was negated by a male nurse who was looking after my father after his surgery. I first encountered this nurse as my father was coming out of sedatives the day after his surgery. When he first entered the room I was grateful for his care of my father. At that time Operation Jade Helm was underway in Texas, and for some reason the nurse thought it appropriate to start talking about how it was really a conspiracy to take away personal guns in Texas, and that after the guns had been taken, there would be Nazi-​style mass murder of citizens by the government. His speech devolved into hate speech about President Obama, and my father looked around at us panic-​stricken as the nurse continued speaking. I was shocked by the hatred coming from this man, in a place of healing – extremely divisive speech when he didn’t know a thing about the people he was addressing. I’ve been puzzled over how to address this since the experience, and wanted to share it in the event that this male nurse has acted in the same way to other families in such moments of stress, and hope that he might read it and not do so in the future.

Disclosure: I have just graduated from this institution and have strong positive feelings towards it, but I am currently no longer an employee or student.
Overview: Wake Forest Medical Center is a tertiary care center in Winston-​Salem, NC serving the difficult cases that come from most of western North Carolina and some of West Virginia. It is a non-​profit hospital but is not owned by the state.
The Establishment: Wake Forest Medical Center is the oldest hospital in Winston-​Salem but has been renovated and updated several times. The oldest buildings (Hanes and Gray) have been purposed as basic science laboratories while the newest buildings have been designated as the Comprehensive Cancer Center. The mid-​aged towers serve as general inpatient floors and surgical centers.
The Physicians: The primary benefit of coming to a teaching hospital like Wake Forest is the mindset of the physicians here. These people have sacrificed higher salaries and comfort to dedicate their lives to teaching the next generation of physicians, thus I feel that the physicians here are truly good hearted people. Most academic physicians sub-​specialize in a small area of study in order to advance the field and thus often they are leaders in their specific area of study. While this may be unneeded for most routine care, emergency care and rare surgeries may be best performed in these academic centers.
The downside to the teaching hospital is that your physician will likely still be in their training, and less experienced, though that physician will certainly be supervised by an older specialized physician. While this may make your stay longer, and you may have to see many more people such as medical and nursing students, you are being overseen by many physicians that can catch absolutely any mistakes.
Conclusion: Wake Forest Medical Center is a wonderful teaching hospital in Winston-​Salem whose mission statement is to make this world better in every way they can. While it may be frustrating being a patient here due to the nature of a teaching hospital and the entire hierarchy of physicians that you will have to meet, you are helping to teach and train the next generations of physicians.

This is a big hospital. Drs are exceptional. Wish everyone referred to it by its real name. Hard to find when everyone calls it Winston Salem hospital!

My daughter had a severe asthma attack that put her in the ICU for 3 days and on a regular floor for another 4. The staff is excellent, knowledgable and friendly with genuine concern for their patients. I’ll be sending thank you cards to the 2 floors once I get back home.

I’ve had countless appointments here and two surgeries so I guess you can say I’m a «fan» of sorts. I really like my doctor and he is an excellent surgeon (Dr. Waters) and am always treated well by all levels of staff. Hope I never need to be there again but I was in good hands.

Hate having to review a hospital, because it means you (or someone you know) are in the hospital. But as far as all that goes, the hospital itself does a good job.
Starting at the parking, they have plenty of it, and though it isn’t free, their rates aren’t bad. Their waiting area is nice, with free wireless access. After being there for a number of hours, it can takes its toll, but that isn’t really the fault of the hospital, right? Better to take their time than not take long enough.
The food is perhaps not the best, but it’s certainly decent — and there are plenty of options. Even some sushi in the cooler, though I’m not sure how long it’s been there. This isn’t to say it’s bad, just that I don’t know, and I’m not sure I’d want to chance it. Definitely a good deal better than most hospital food, and the fact that you can use a card for it is nice too, since some only take cash, which is a bit annoying.

January 31, 2012
To all those concerned,
Hello my name is Keith Hightower. People often will complain, not so often they take the time to thank or show their gratitude. I was involved in a tragic auto accident on October 17, 2010. After being air lifted to your hospital and coding several times, the doctors were able to stabilize me. The care I received in your hospital saved my life. From the day I was admitted to my departure I received the best medical help. The doctors, nurses to the man that cleaned my room were all to be commended. I am not only grateful, but impressed with the whole process– I did not have one thing to complain about. You guys are top notch. I have become a Baptist Hospital ambassador. I tell everyone that will listen and some that did not care to listen! Thank you.
However, the reason for this letter is to recognize an individual that helped me through a difficult time. The care did not stop after leaving the hospital. My medical bills were in excess of 200k. I was not able to work for about a year. I was just shy of the 200k+, I normally have a quarter million lying around. At this point I was little shy– money wise. After 15 months of being turned down by the fast and efficient, streamline and always compassionate Medicaid program. Marilyn encouraged me to appeal the decision.
I had been turned down. Stunning– I know. During this pleasant process I was fortunate to be helped by Marilyn McDaniel. She is the reason I am writing to you. She encouraged me to appeal the decision. I did and had a hearing. I was turned down– imagine that. She worked with me through this whole ordeal. I felt like giving up. I won the appeal. The appeal gave me benefits from the day I won the appeal. Not the date off the accident. At this point I was done; I mean I had given up hope. Mrs. McDaniel thought the decision that was odd. Normally it goes back to day you were injured. I could not get the time of day from Medicaid. I was up against a wall. I gave up. On one call after explaining the situation she informed me that she was going to have send me the bill. I said I understood. I owed three hospitals, numerous doctors, a helicopter ride and to many bills to list. I would not answer the phone, hated going to the mail box– my life was a living hell. Mrs. McDaniel ask me to hang on, she would call the hearing officer that was covering my case. Within 30 minutes, that is no exaggeration she had the hearing officer on the phone. It turned out to be a mistake on Medicaid behalf– I know– imagine that. By her taking the time to make that call, she saved my pride and removed my sense of hopelessness. The up side for me was enormous. The up side for Baptist was only a small penitence, a mere 200k+. She pulled me out of a fire and saved the hospital a large sum of money. I am very grateful. It would not have happened without Mrs. Mc Daniel kindness, patience and expertise. We would all be in a very different place. A very undesirable place. I don’t know how you recognize your employee’s excellent service– she went WAY beyond what she had to do. I suggest an all expense paid vacation to Hawaii or the destination of her choice. A raise– at least a foot rub– I am kidding. Thank you Baptist, and thank you Marilyn for sticking with me. You guys stayed with me from the beginning of this nightmare to the end. I cannot say enough.
Glad to have the ability to type,
Keith Hightower
919−878−8394 hm/​office
919−523−4800 cell
Ps– I wish I had the doctors’ name at Piedmont Regional Hospital that did not give up on me. He called the medi vac. Also I would like the names of the doctors that saved my life. Also– if it is possible the nurses involved. Your whole team was flawless.

This is a wonderful hospital. They have valet parking for emergency room patients, which really makes it easy for you to take your loved one inside quickly without having to worry about leaving him/​her while you go find a parking space. They are doing construction now at the ER entrance, though, so it’s kind of tough getting in there, but their health care services are well worth the inconvenience.
They also have a wide variety of medical specialties they can help you with since they are a university teaching hospital. My husband went to the ER with an eye problem, and there was a specialist available to see him right then, on a Sunday afternoon.

This Hospital is a Level I Trauma Center and as the teaching Hospital to Wake Forest University has a top notch staff that includes some of the leading doctors in America. I took a family member to the Emergency Center and the doctors, nurses and staff were professional, caring and friendly. They visited the room frequently providing updates and were able to log-​in to a terminal from the room to provide ²⁴⁄₇ information.
There is a Cafeteria on the Mezzaine level which is very reasonable. There are two parking garages for visitors A and B. The floors are color coded so make sure you remember which floor and garage A or B you parked. Parking is by the hour but if you plan on leaving and coming back the same day, then you should purchase a 24 hour pass for $ 4.50. The parking cashiers leave after 10:30 pm and after that you need 3 dollar bills to drive out.
To take someone to Emergency, follow the signs. There will security guards that will show you exactly where to drop off your patient and where to park afterwards.
Finally, during the Friday night I was in the Emergency Room with the family member, it was like an episode of TV show ER. Be prepared to see things up close you have never seen before. If you are the type that slows down and rubber necks when passing an accident, this would be a Candy Store for you despite the unpleasant experience of having to be in a Hospital Emergency Room.