Cape Fear Valley Health Hotline Celebrates One Million Calls

Cape Fear Valley Medical System

iscelebrating a major milestone.

CareLink

is a telephone answering service that allows nurses to help patients find doctors and provide callers with health information. On Tuesday, the service celebrated its one millionth call.

"As the public shows us this need, we just keep adding on to the responsibilities," said CareLink Manager Linda Cooper.

In April 1997, CareLink began with four nurses.Since then, the staff has grown to include 14 nurses who take as many as 900 calls a day.

"The call center concept was completely new to Fayetteville. We don't have one in the area, the nearest ones are in Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill," said Cooper.

CareLink will be celebrate its millionth call with an open house Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

To access CareLink, call (910) 609-LINK or 1-888-728-WELL. The service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.