Wake Forest Baptist to Serve as Official Medical Provider at MerleFest

April 25, 2018

Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center will serve as the official medical provider at this year’s MerleFest, one of the premier music festivals in the country.

Members of the Triad State Medical Assistance Team (SMAT), hosted by Wake Forest Baptist, will work with Wilkes County EMS to provide medical care to people attending the festival, which starts tomorrow (Thursday, April 26) and runs through Sunday on the campus of Wilkes Community College.

The SMAT personnel will set up and staff a mobile medical unit and also operate an EMS all-terrain vehicle, allowing them to quickly respond to illnesses or injuries during the event.

“We typically treat people who need minor medical care due to heat exhaustion or injuries from a fall, often saving them a trip to the hospital,” said Corey Roberts, regional health care preparedness planner for Wake Forest Baptist. “For the more serious illnesses or traumatic injuries, we can triage patients at the scene and get them transported directly to an appropriate facility for treatment.”

Wake Forest Baptist also will provide health and wellness-related materials at the festival, including information about the services available at Wake Forest Baptist Health–Wilkes Medical Center in North Wilkesboro and tips about children’s health, injury prevention and other topics.

“Wilkes Medical Center has a long history of taking care of our area’s health care needs,” said J. Gene Faile, president of Wilkes Medical Center. “We are pleased to continue that tradition by helping to ensure that everyone attending MerleFest has a safe and enjoyable time.”

Last July, Wake Forest Baptist began a long-term lease of what had been known as Wilkes Regional Medical Center.

Since then it has integrated the renamed facility into its extensive health care network and developed plans to expand the range of services offered at the hospital and in surrounding areas, including providing certified athletic trainers at the four public high schools in Wilkes County.

Media Relations

Joe McCloskey: jmcclosk@wakehealth.edu, 336-716-1273

Eryn Johnson: eryjohns@wakehealth.edu, 336-713-8228