Raleigh, NC -- WakeMed Health & Hospitals announces the appointment of Mark Piehl, MD, MPH to the position of Medical Director for the new WakeMed Children’s Hospital. The Children’s Hospital currently under construction on the fourth floor of the new patient tower on WakeMed Raleigh Campus will be Wake County’s first dedicated Children’s Hospital.
Dr. Piehl has served as a pediatric hospitalist and intensivist for WakeMed Faculty Physicians –Pediatrics since 1999 and has also served as Medical Director for WakeMed’s Pediatric Diabetes program since 2002. Since joining WakeMed, Dr. Piehl’s passion, leadership and vision for improving the quality and availability of children’s health care in Wake County has helped guide WakeMed’s children’s services strategy, which has included the addition of Wake County’s only full-time pediatric endocrinologist and the development of an innovative type 2 diabetes prevention program for at-risk youth.
Recently, Dr. Piehl has played an integral role in the strategic direction of the Children’s Hospital and also in the WakeMed Foundation’s Just for Kids Kampaign, a $20 million fundraising campaign to fund the construction of the new Children’s Hospital. This year, the Foundation seeks to raise $8.5 million for the first phase of this project and recently announced it has raised $5 million toward this goal.
“Wake County is growing at a rapid rate with many young families continuing to move into the area,” explains Dr. Bill Atkinson, president & CEO. “This growth substantiates the need for the Children’s Hospital, and Dr. Piehl is a superb choice to lead the expansion of pediatric services. He is an exceptional clinician who is passionate about advocating for the children in our community, and we are extremely fortunate to have his leadership and insight.”
Dr. Piehl is board certified in internal medicine, pediatrics and pediatric critical care, and brings nearly 15 years of experience and leadership in pediatric medicine. He is a graduate of the University of North Carolina School of Medicine at Chapel Hill, where he also completed his residency in pediatrics and internal medicine followed by a fellowship in pediatric critical care. He is a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the North Carolina Pediatric Society and the Society for Critical Care Medicine, among others. Dr. Piehl is also a clinical associate professor in pediatrics at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine in Chapel Hill. In addition to serving as Medical Director for the Children’s Hospital, Dr. Piehl will also assume the role of Director for WakeMed Faculty Physicians – Pediatrics practice.
WakeMed provided care to over 142,000 pediatric patient contacts in 2008 alone. The new Children’s Hospital will enhance and expand the services that WakeMed can provide to children and increase much needed in-patient beds. The new 45-bed Children’s Hospital will feature an inpatient unit with all private, kid-friendly rooms; a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU); an observation unit for children requiring less than a 24-hour stay; an expanded Level IV Intensive Care Nursery; and expanded surgical capabilities, new technologies and additional pediatric sub specialists. Amenities will also include significantly larger rooms, in-room accommodations for parents in the PICU, and teen and kid playrooms for patients. The hospital will have a dedicated elevator direct to the fourth floor from the lobby of the main hospital for increased privacy and security. Anticipated opening is spring 2010.
