WakeMed Cary Hospital

Had a very good experience at the ER on 12/1/12 with my elderly father in law. Very friendly and helpful staff. Yes, we were there for 7.5 hours, but we were taken care of very well. It's unfortunate to read these other reviews. My experience was outstanding. more

WakeMed Hospital’s Bad Services and Incorrect Claim\r \r The WakeMed services are very bad and unprofessional. They sent an incorrect claim to my insurance and refused to correct.\r \r I had an Emergency Room visit with WakeMed hospital in NC at the night of January 2012. I had serious vomiting and positional vertigo (cannot stand and walk) and the doctor requested a CT exam. The total cost is $4,559. According to my insurance plan (UMR, a UnitedHealthcare Company) the insurance should cover 80% (On UMR_Med_policy, page 4).\r \r UMR informed me that WakeMed sent an incorrect claim to UMR, which led to the insurance only paid 70%. That is, UMR covered 10% ($456) less.\r \r I have requested WakeMed sending a corrected claim to my insurance company by two certified letters (on 6/18/2012 and 7/24/2012), but have not received any responses. I also called them at least four times (talked with Dwight and Giles of WakeMed Financial Services on 6/4/2012 and 6/14/2012), but they did not give me any feedback. \r \r More badly, WakeMed put my account to a debt collection company in August.\r more

This place should be avoided. It seems understaffed and nobody seems to know what they're doing, and there seems to be no management to be found after the day shift. You would think if there were known problems, the simplest solution would be to have a manager working to get things on track. How lazy. It's asking for trouble. Go to Rex for proper care. more

It has been 5 months since my surgery and I still cannot believe what an awful experience it was. I was brought to the hospital by ambulance early on a Sunday morning with awful stomach pains. Within 10 minutes I was told that my Gallbladder needed to come out right away. I then went on to have several tests done and I was admitted around 1pm. I was told that my surgery would be in the early evening hours. Around 6pm a nurse came and told me that she did not know when my surgery would be because there was only one OR open on the weekends and it was already booked, my surgery had been pushed back until sometime late that evening. That turned into the next morning, then the afternoon, then evening and finally I went down to the OR at 11pm on Monday night. Since they did not know when my surgery was going to be, they would not let me eat. I went 2 days with no food! I spoke with my assigned Dr briefly on Sunday evening and did not see him again before the surgery. Now comes the scary part, I never saw him again after. Nobody came to tell my family how the surgery went, the doctor never came back at any point after to make sure I was alright. I got back to my room around 2am, when I woke up the next morning the nurses were rushing to get me out. They said that I needed to be released before my doctor came back on for his shift or he would be upset because they were expected to have a certain ""turnaround time"". At no point did anyone tell me what to expect with my surgery or what steps I should take to care for myself when I got home - what to eat, how much time I should take off from work, etc. Instead I got a packet of papers that included information like ' What do to if you need to put your parent in a nursing home'. After a week I was still in severe pain and there was a lump that had formed under my scar. I called my surgeon several times and asked if he would see me and each time I was told that he was too busy and I needed to wait for my scheduled follow up the next week. I went to my primary doctor who thought that something might be wrong and sent me for a CAT scan, which led to another MRI. When I finally got to see the surgeon the next week he told me that I had been having some issues because there had been some complications during my surgery so it was going to take me longer to heal than most people would. I could not believe that this kind of information had been kept from me. When I went to the hospital to talk to the administrators about my experience I was completely blown off. I should have know something was wrong when the first office they sat me in had a desk COVERED in huge binders full of patient complaints all from the past year. They told me that my surgery had taken so long to schedule because they had made the decision that it was more cost effective to keep people in the hospital and waiting in line for surgery than to open up one of the other OR's. Which of course makes sense because my insurance had to pay for me to stay an extra day so they don't care, they are getting their money either way. I do have insurance but I have a high deductable, $3000, a couple weeks after I got home they sent me a bill and said that it needed to be paid in full within 30 days. I called to talk to them about it and the woman I spoke with was incredible rude. When I talked to her about a payment plan they said that they would not take less than $300 a month. I explained to her that this was a completely unexpected expense and there was no way I could pay that, she pretty much hung up on me. I told her that all I could pay was 150 a month and I started making payments, after the third month I got a letter saying that they had turned me over to a collection agency. I now carry a card next in my wallet next to my drivers license that says ""In case of an emergency please do not take me to WakeMed"". Since this experience I have been amazed at all of the horror stories that people have been telling me about this hospital. more

Beware!! If you are out of work with no medical coverage avoid WakeMed at all costs. In one emergency room visit alone they charged over $4200 for just one procedure (a CT scan)!! These charges are possibly two to three times WakeMed's normal charges/profit margins. This statement is based on public information available on the web for what Medicare pays WakeMed for these services. Out of work yet offering several times to pay immediately in full by taking out a personal loan you think they might be willing to negotiate the amount of these charges right? Wrong! They state they are within their legal limits they are allowed to charge for these services and they have made it clear they want every blood thirsty dime. I strongly, strongly recommend you avoid going to WakeMed at all costs. I will never darken their doorstep ever, ever again. John more

We delivered our Baby girl at WakeMed Birth Center Cary. Had a comfortable experience at the Birth Center and with the Nurses. One of the nurses Elizabeth was very attentive and helpful to our needs more

I delivered our first child in Dec. 2008, and it was the most wonderful experience. The staff especially my nurse Kimberly in L&D was awesome. I had my daughter in the wee hours of the morning and after the delivery was all over, my husband and I were starving. I had been in labor for more than 24 hours and had not had a thing to eat. Once they got us into a room they made sure that we had everything we needed and brought us both something to eat. The next day my daughter had to be taken to the ""special needs nursey"" due to an issue with her blood sugar and those nurses and pediatricians in that department were wonderful. Everyone there was so caring and concerned about her. Even the nurse Kimberly we had in the delivery room came to see her in the special needs nursery. I live in Johnston County but I have no doubt that I will go to this hospital to have any future children. Pros: wonderful caring staff more

I was at Rex for my first delivery in 2005 and THEIR birthing center was under construction and I did not have a great experience. But my daughter and I are happy and healthy and that is the past. My second delivery was in June 2009 at Wake Med Cary and I thought I was in a resort. I probably had about 14 people that took care of me during my 4 day 3 night stay and only 2 were only average. The others were so above and beyond great I can't really even complain about the two. The food tasted great, the bed was comfortable (as comfortable as hospital beds can be), they were understanding, quiet and it was so clean. The floor was dirty - we had to wear shoes but I can't imagine how they would keep it clean with all the traffic. The linens were changed daily, the shower was HUGE. I had a C section and it was big enough for my husband to come and help me. His bed was a couch that turned into a single. He had free snacks in the Coach's room. I had been recommended this place for having a baby and I see why. I would also recommend it to anyone. Pros: Huge CLEAN rooms, nice big bathroom Cons: Floor dirty more

no hospital can be perfect but after having a miserable experience at Rex i came to this hospital and was treated with love and care in the ER. the emergency room nurses and Drs are absolutely wonderful. Pros: i feel safe there Cons: What are the drawbacks? more

This is not a review of our doctor, the procedure (delivery), or even medical expertise, but a review of the facility and staff.\r \r This is our second child, second delivery at WakeMed Cary. \r The first, 2.5 years ago, was great. We had taken the ""new parents"" orientation, and learned what to expect and processes to follow. When the day came, things went smoothly, the facilities were everything we were led to expect, and the care was fine. The staff was attentive, and (most) were a pleasure to work with. Four and a half stars.\r With our second child, we again chose WakeMed Cary based on our first experience. Big difference. The women's pavilion is undergoing expansion, which means construction. The delivery went smoothly. Post-partum however, we were not moved to a recovery room but instead to a small triage room (due to overflow, we're told). The room contains none of the amenities we had expected. No bathtub. No shower (you get to use a communal one out in the hall). No window, couch, tablespace, refrigerator, etc. The bed isn't a recovery bed, but instead one similar to the delivery room beds (smaller, far less comfortable). The hubby/coach bed is an uncomfortable roll-around with a stained mattress.\r Then there's the noise. As I write this compressors, jackhammers, drills, saws, dropped rebar etc. are creating such a racket and vibrations that our infant is constantly disturbed and everyone is having trouble resting.\r And the staff... a couple were very nice, a couple just businesslike, and a couple downright cold/hostile.\r \r Credit the director for acknowledging our discomfort and acting where possible to moderate some of our worst issues. For her effort, this review rose to two stars.\r \r WakeMed Cary will probably be a great facility once construction concludes, but we'll make an effort to learn others' experiences / opinions of the staff before choosing WakeMed again and never, never again come here while construction is underway. Pros: location, spectrum of care Cons: construction impacts quality of care; some staff difficult more