Medical centers in the United States
Encyclopedia
- This article discusses the major medical centers in the U.S. For all hospitals, see List of hospitals in the United States. For a general discussion about U.S. health care see Health care in the United StatesHealth care in the United StatesHealth care in the United States is provided by many separate legal entities. Health care facilities are largely owned and operated by the private sector...
.
Medical centers in the United States are conglomerations of health-care
Health care
Health care is the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in humans. Health care is delivered by practitioners in medicine, chiropractic, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, allied health, and other care providers...
facilities including hospital
Hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....
s and research facilities that also either include or are closely affiliated with a medical school
Medical school
A medical school is a tertiary educational institution—or part of such an institution—that teaches medicine. Degree programs offered at medical schools often include Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine, Bachelor/Doctor of Medicine, Doctor of Philosophy, master's degree, or other post-secondary...
. Although the term medical center is sometimes used to refer to any concentration of health-care providers including local clinic
Clinic
A clinic is a health care facility that is primarily devoted to the care of outpatients...
s and individual hospital buildings the term is more properly used to refer to larger facilities or groupings of facilities that include a full spectrum of health services, medical education and medical research.
The major medical centers represent the crown jewels of health care in the United States
Health care in the United States
Health care in the United States is provided by many separate legal entities. Health care facilities are largely owned and operated by the private sector...
. They vary greatly in their organization, the services they provide, and their ownership and operation.
Overview
In the United States, ownership of the health care system is mainly in private hands, though federal, state, county, and city governments also own certain facilities. Many major hospitals, generally the backbone of any medical center, are non-profit and many of these have their origins in religious organizations. Despite their non-profit status, affiliation with private ventures and major medical schools often allows them to maintain state-of-the-art facilities and services. The non-profit hospitalNon-profit hospital
A non-profit hospital, or not-for-profit hospital, is a hospital which is organized as a non-profit corporation. Based on their charitable purpose and most often affiliated with a religious denomination they are a traditional means of delivering medical care in the United States...
's share of total hospital capacity has remained relatively stable (about 70%) for decades. There are also privately owned for-profit hospitals as well as government hospitals
Public hospital
A public hospital or government hospital is a hospital which is owned by a government and receives government funding. This type of hospital provides medical care free of charge, the cost of which is covered by the funding the hospital receives....
in some locations, mainly owned by county and city governments.
Major medical centers provide many specialized services, some even containing multiple specialized hospitals and clinics each dedicated to specific types of patients and/or services. Additionally they are centers of medical education, centers of medical research, and incubators for medical innovation and technology. A given medical center may include a medical school in the same complex as the rest of the facilities or may be closely affiliated with a medical school on a nearby campus. Similarly a given medical school may be closely associated with multiple tightly linked hospital campuses which function to some degree as a unit though the group may not be referred to as a single medical center (e.g. the Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School is the graduate medical school of Harvard University. It is located in the Longwood Medical Area of the Mission Hill neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts....
network of teaching hospitals).
There are about 1,100 teaching hospitals in the United States. Approximately 375 of the larger institutions belong to the Association of American Medical Colleges’ Council of Teaching Hospitals and Health Systems (COTH). COTH teaching hospitals train about 75 percent of residents yearly and provide more than 40 percent of all hospital charity care in the nation.
Major medical centers
Although any rankings of medical centers are highly subjective, this section describes some of the largest and most prominent centers in the nation. Note that the rankings and importance of individual hospital facilities may be different from the medical centers that they belong to.Johns Hopkins
The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, located in Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
(USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
), in addition to operating a major medical school, operates the Johns Hopkins Hospital
Johns Hopkins Hospital
The Johns Hopkins Hospital is the teaching hospital and biomedical research facility of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, located in Baltimore, Maryland . It was founded using money from a bequest by philanthropist Johns Hopkins...
, which consists of both a teaching hospital
Teaching hospital
A teaching hospital is a hospital that provides clinical education and training to future and current doctors, nurses, and other health professionals, in addition to delivering medical care to patients...
and biomedical research
Biomedical research
Biomedical research , in general simply known as medical research, is the basic research, applied research, or translational research conducted to aid and support the body of knowledge in the field of medicine...
facility. It was founded using money from a bequest by philanthropist
Philanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
Johns Hopkins
Johns Hopkins
Johns Hopkins was a wealthy American entrepreneur, philanthropist and abolitionist of 19th-century Baltimore, Maryland, now most noted for his philanthropic creation of the institutions that bear his name, namely the Johns Hopkins Hospital, and the Johns Hopkins University and its associated...
. The Johns Hopkins Hospital and the Johns Hopkins
School of Medicine are the founding institutions of modern American medicine and are the birthplace of numerous traditions including “rounds,” “residents” and “housestaff”. The Johns Hopkins Hospital is the birthplace of many medical specialties including neurosurgery
Neurosurgery
Neurosurgery is the medical specialty concerned with the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of disorders which affect any portion of the nervous system including the brain, spine, spinal cord, peripheral nerves, and extra-cranial cerebrovascular system.-In the United States:In...
, urology
Urology
Urology is the medical and surgical specialty that focuses on the urinary tracts of males and females, and on the reproductive system of males. Medical professionals specializing in the field of urology are called urologists and are trained to diagnose, treat, and manage patients with urological...
, endocrinology
Endocrinology
Endocrinology is a branch of biology and medicine dealing with the endocrine system, its diseases, and its specific secretions called hormones, the integration of developmental events such as proliferation, growth, and differentiation and the coordination of...
, pediatrics
Pediatrics
Pediatrics or paediatrics is the branch of medicine that deals with the medical care of infants, children, and adolescents. A medical practitioner who specializes in this area is known as a pediatrician or paediatrician...
, cardiac surgery
Cardiac surgery
Cardiovascular surgery is surgery on the heart or great vessels performed by cardiac surgeons. Frequently, it is done to treat complications of ischemic heart disease , correct congenital heart disease, or treat valvular heart disease from various causes including endocarditis, rheumatic heart...
and child psychiatry.
It is widely regarded as one of the greatest hospitals in the United States and the world. It has been ranked by U.S. News and World Report as the best overall hospital in America for 20 consecutive years.
Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic is a non-profit organization and internationally renowned group medical practice headquartered in Rochester, MinnesotaRochester, Minnesota
Rochester is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the county seat of Olmsted County. Located on both banks of the Zumbro River, The city has a population of 106,769 according to the 2010 United States Census, making it Minnesota's third-largest city and the largest outside of the...
. Its headquarters consist of the Mayo Medical School
Mayo Medical School
Mayo Medical School is a part of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, United States. It grants degrees in medicine, and is accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.-History:...
, the Mayo Graduate School, the Mayo College of Graduate Medical Education, and several other health science schools. Its research facilities are in Rochester, Minnesota
Rochester, Minnesota
Rochester is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the county seat of Olmsted County. Located on both banks of the Zumbro River, The city has a population of 106,769 according to the 2010 United States Census, making it Minnesota's third-largest city and the largest outside of the...
, in addition to hospitals and clinics in Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968...
, Scottsdale, Arizona
Scottsdale, Arizona
Scottsdale is a city in the eastern part of Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, adjacent to Phoenix. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as of 2010 the population of the city was 217,385...
, and Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
. Mayo Clinic partners with a number of smaller clinics and hospitals in Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
, and Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
, an organization known as the "Mayo Health System."
Mayo Clinic pays medical doctors a fixed salary that is unaffected by patient volume. This practice is thought to decrease the monetary motivation to see patients in large numbers and increase the incentive to spend more time with individuals. Salaries are determined instead by the marketplace salaries for physicians in comparable large group practices.
Massachusetts General
Massachusetts General Hospital
Massachusetts General Hospital
Massachusetts General Hospital is a teaching hospital and biomedical research facility in the West End neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts...
and Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School is the graduate medical school of Harvard University. It is located in the Longwood Medical Area of the Mission Hill neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts....
in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
collectively represent one of the oldest medical education and research centers in the nation. Massachusetts general itself is owned and operated by Partners HealthCare
Partners HealthCare
Partners HealthCare is a non-profit organization that owns several hospitals in Massachusetts, primarily in the Boston area. Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women's Hospital founded the organization in 1994...
(which also owns Brigham and Women's Hospital
Brigham and Women's Hospital
Brigham and Women's Hospital is the largest hospital of the Longwood Medical and Academic Area in Boston, Massachusetts. It is directly adjacent to Harvard Medical School of which it is the second largest teaching affiliate with 793 beds...
and North Shore Medical Center
North Shore Medical Center
The North Shore Medical Center is a hospital complex on the North Shore of Massachusetts. It encompasses several campuses, the main being the Salem facility at 81 Highland Avenue, Salem, Mass., 01970, which consists of NSMC Salem Hospital, and MassGeneral for Children at North Shore Medical...
). MGH is part of the consortium
Consortium
A consortium is an association of two or more individuals, companies, organizations or governments with the objective of participating in a common activity or pooling their resources for achieving a common goal....
of hospitals which operates Boston MedFlight
Boston MedFlight
Boston MedFlight is a non-profit organization that provides emergency scene response and emergent interfacility transfer in Eastern Massachusetts...
and is a member of the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center
Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center
The Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center is the largest National Cancer Institute designated Comprehensive Cancer Center in the nation. Founded in 1998, DF/HCC is an inter-institutional research enterprise that unites all of the cancer research efforts of the Harvard affiliated community...
.
The hospital has 905 beds and admits over 45,000 patients each year. The surgical staff performs over 34,000 operations yearly and hospital handles over 1 million outpatients each year at its main campus, as well as its six satellite facilities in Boston at Back Bay, Charlestown, Chelsea, Everett, Revere, and Waltham. In 2003, MGH was named the state's first Magnet hospital by the American Nurses Credentialing Center, a subsidiary of the American Nurses Association
American Nurses Association
The American Nurses Association is a professional organization to advance and protect the profession of nursing. It started in 1896 as the Nurses Associated Alumnae and was renamed the American Nurses Association in 1911...
.
Texas Medical Center
The Texas Medical Center is the largest medical center in the world with one of the highest densities of clinical facilities for patient care, basic science, and translational researchTranslational research
Translational research is a way of thinking about and conducting scientific research to make the results of research applicable to the population under study and is practised in the natural and biological, behavioural, and social sciences...
. Located in Houston, the center contains 47 medicine-related institutions, including 13 hospitals and two specialty institutions, two medical schools, four nursing
Nursing
Nursing is a healthcare profession focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life from conception to death....
schools, and schools of dentistry
Dentistry
Dentistry is the branch of medicine that is involved in the study, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases, disorders and conditions of the oral cavity, maxillofacial area and the adjacent and associated structures and their impact on the human body. Dentistry is widely considered...
, public health
Public health
Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals" . It is concerned with threats to health based on population health...
, pharmacy
Pharmacy
Pharmacy is the health profession that links the health sciences with the chemical sciences and it is charged with ensuring the safe and effective use of pharmaceutical drugs...
, and other health-related practices. All 47 institutions are not-for-profit and constitute some of the most highly-regarded institutions in the country, including: M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Texas Children's Hospital
Texas Children's Hospital
Texas Children's Hospital is a pediatric hospital located in the Texas Medical Center in Houston, Texas.With 639 licensed beds and 465 beds in operation, Texas Children's is the largest children's hospital in the United States and is affiliated with the Baylor College of Medicine as that...
, The Texas Heart Institute
The Texas Heart Institute
The Texas Heart Institute is a not-for-profit cardiology and heart surgery center located within the Texas Medical Center in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1962 by Dr. Denton A. Cooley, its original charter stated its purpose was “the study and treatment of diseases of the heart and blood vessels...
, The Methodist Hospital
The Methodist Hospital
The Methodist Hospital is a hospital located in the Texas Medical Center in Houston, Texas. Established in 1919 as an outreach ministry of The United Methodist Church, Methodist is one of the most comprehensive teaching hospitals in the United States, with leading specialists in every field of...
and Baylor College of Medicine
Baylor College of Medicine
Baylor College of Medicine, located in the Texas Medical Center in Houston, Texas, USA, is a highly regarded medical school and leading center for biomedical research and clinical care...
. The center is where one of the first and largest air ambulance services was created and where a successful inter-institutional transplant program was developed. More heart surgeries are performed at the Texas Medical Center than anywhere else in the world.
Cleveland Clinic
The Cleveland Clinic is a multispecialty academic medical center located in ClevelandCleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
. Currently regarded as one of the top hospitals in the United States, the Cleveland Clinic was established in 1921 by four physicians for the purpose of providing patient care, research, and medical education in an ideal medical setting. One of the largest private medical centers in the world, the Cleveland Clinic saw more than 2,800,000 patient visits in 2005, with almost 70,000 hospital admissions. Patients arrive at the Cleveland Clinic from all 50 states and more than 100 nations. The Cleveland Clinic’s approximately 1,700 salaried staff physicians represent 120 medical specialties and subspecialties and is ranked among the top four hospitals in America. The Cleveland Clinic has ranked number one in America for cardiac care for 15 years in a row.
NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital
NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital is a prominent university hospital
University hospital
A university hospital is an institution which combines the services of a hospital with the education of medical students and with medical research. These hospitals are typically affiliated with a medical school or university...
system in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, composed of two medical centers, Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
Medical Center
Columbia University Medical Center
Columbia University Medical Center is an academic medical center that includes Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons, College of Dental Medicine, School of Nursing and Mailman School of Public Health...
and the Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
Weill Medical Center.
New York-Presbyterian Hospital, chartered as "The New York and Presbyterian Hospital" by New York State in 1996, was formed in 1998 with the merger of two large, previously independent hospitals, the New York Hospital and Presbyterian Hospital. The NYPH system includes a variety of outlying hospitals that had previously been acquired by NYH or Presbyterian; these hospitals stretch throughout the five boroughs, Westchester County, Long Island and New Jersey. NYPH is now the largest private employer in New York City.
The two medical schools remain essentially autonomous, though there is increasing cooperation and coordination of clinical, research, and residency training programs. NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital is one of the most comprehensive university hospitals in the world, with leading specialists in every field of medicine.
University of Pennsylvania Health System
University of Pennsylvania Health System includes the nation's first teaching hospital, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP), and the nation's first hospital, Pennsylvania Hospital. It operates under the direction and auspices of Penn Medicine. HUP alone is ranked as the 9th-best overall hospital in the United States by U.S.News & World Report in 2010. Although it is not a part of Penn Health System, the Children's Hospital of PhiladelphiaChildren's Hospital of Philadelphia
The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia is one of the largest and oldest children's hospitals in the world. CHOP has been ranked as the best children's hospital in the United States by U.S. News & World Report and Parents Magazine in recent years. As of 2008, it was ranked #1 in the nation for...
(CHOP) is also on the same campus and it engages in many collaborative efforts. CHOP's physicians serve as the pediatrics department of Penn's School of Medicine.
UCSF Medical Center
The UCSF Medical Center is a world renowned hospital in research and teaching hospitalTeaching hospital
A teaching hospital is a hospital that provides clinical education and training to future and current doctors, nurses, and other health professionals, in addition to delivering medical care to patients...
in San Francisco, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. It is one of the leading hospitals in the United States and with the UCSF School of Medicine has been the site of various breakthroughs in all specialities of medicine. Patients with complex diseases from around the world seek treatment at UCSF Medical Center.
With campuses located at Parnassus Heights and Mount Zion, UCSF Medical Center is affiliated with the University of California, San Francisco
University of California, San Francisco
The University of California, San Francisco is one of the world's leading centers of health sciences research, patient care, and education. UCSF's medical, pharmacy, dentistry, nursing, and graduate schools are among the top health science professional schools in the world...
. It has been ranked as the 7th-best overall medical center in the United States by U.S.News & World Report.
Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center
The Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center is a hospitalHospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....
located on the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
.
UCLA Medical Center has research centers covering nearly all major specialties of medicine
Medicine
Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
as well as dentistry
Dentistry
Dentistry is the branch of medicine that is involved in the study, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases, disorders and conditions of the oral cavity, maxillofacial area and the adjacent and associated structures and their impact on the human body. Dentistry is widely considered...
and ophthalmology
Ophthalmology
Ophthalmology is the branch of medicine that deals with the anatomy, physiology and diseases of the eye. An ophthalmologist is a specialist in medical and surgical eye problems...
, and is the primary teaching hospital
Teaching hospital
A teaching hospital is a hospital that provides clinical education and training to future and current doctors, nurses, and other health professionals, in addition to delivering medical care to patients...
for the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
UCLA School of Medicine or David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA is an accredited medical school located in Los Angeles, California, United States...
. The hospital's emergency department is certified as a level I trauma center for adults and pediatrics.
It is rated as one of the top three hospitals in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and is the top hospital on the West Coast according to US News & World Report. The hospital has been ranked in the top twenty in 15 of the 16 medical specialties ranked by the US News ranking. Ten of those specialties were ranked in the top ten.
Duke University Health System
The Duke University Health System, located in Durham, North CarolinaDurham, North Carolina
Durham is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the county seat of Durham County and also extends into Wake County. It is the fifth-largest city in the state, and the 85th-largest in the United States by population, with 228,330 residents as of the 2010 United States census...
, combines the Duke University School of Medicine
Duke University School of Medicine
The Duke University School of Medicine is Duke University's medical school operating under the auspices of the Duke University Medical Center. Established in 1925 by James B...
, the Duke University School of Nursing
Duke University School of Nursing
The Duke University School of Nursing is located in Durham, NC and is affiliated with Duke University and Duke University Health System. The school offers an accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing, a Master of Science in Nursing, Doctorate in Nursing Practice , and a Ph.D. Program...
, the Duke Clinic, and the member hospitals into a system of research, clinical care, and education.
For its part the Duke University Hospital is a 924 bed academic tertiary care facility located in Durham, North Carolina
Durham, North Carolina
Durham is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the county seat of Durham County and also extends into Wake County. It is the fifth-largest city in the state, and the 85th-largest in the United States by population, with 228,330 residents as of the 2010 United States census...
. Since its establishment in 1930, the hospital has grown from a small regional hospital to a world-class academic medical center. Duke University Hospital is the flagship teaching hospital for the Duke University Health System
Duke University Health System
The Duke University Health System, combines the Duke University School of Medicine, the Duke University School of Nursing, the Duke Clinic, and the member hospitals into a system of research, clinical care, and education.-Duke University Hospital:...
, a network of physicians and hospitals serving Durham
Durham County, North Carolina
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 223,314 people, 89,015 households, and 54,032 families residing in the county. The population density was 769 people per square mile . There were 95,452 housing units at an average density of 329 per square mile...
and Wake County, North Carolina
Wake County, North Carolina
Wake County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2010 census, the population was 900,993 making it North Carolina's second most populated county...
and surrounding areas as well as one of three Level I
Trauma center
A trauma center is a hospital equipped to provide comprehensive emergency medical services to patients suffering traumatic injuries. Trauma centers grew into existence out of the realization that traumatic injury is a disease process unto itself requiring specialized and experienced...
referral centers for the Research Triangle of North Carolina (the other two are UNC Hospitals in nearby Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Chapel Hill is a town in Orange County, North Carolina, United States and the home of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and UNC Health Care...
and WakeMed Raleigh
WakeMed
WakeMed Health and Hospitals is a 870-bed healthcare system with multiple facilities placed around the metropolitan Raleigh, North Carolina area. WakeMed’s main campus is located on New Bern Avenue in Raleigh, North Carolina...
in Raleigh
Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh is the capital and the second largest city in the state of North Carolina as well as the seat of Wake County. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city's 2010 population was 403,892, over an area of , making Raleigh...
).