WakeMed's Apex Healthplex was named one of the 20 most beautiful hospitals in America.

The facility was recognized by healthcare staffing company Soliant for things such as architectural style, photogenic properties, landscaping and distinctiveness.

The building, at Apex Peakway and Zeno Road, was designed by BBH Design. Its design takes advantage of the site's topography and features a cantilever over the pond, offering from emergency department patient care rooms.

It's WakeMed's newest Healthplex, and features the state's second stand-alone, 24-hour, full-service emergency department for kids and adults.

In its first year, more than 14,000 patients had been treated in the emergency department. That's about 3,000 more patients than originally anticipated.

It will be a model for others in the Triangle.

Last week, WakeMed said it won regulatory approval to expand its North Raleigh facility and build new medical centers in Garner and Raleigh's Brier Creek area.

Rwandan and Afgan entrepreneurs see Cary

Three Cary business owners spent five days mentoring Afghan and Rwandan women entrepreneurs about business ownership.

The five-day program, which ended Tuesday, were conducted as part of Peace Through Business, a national business training program operated by the nonprofit Institute for Economic Empowerment for Women in Oklahoma.

Cary's mentors included Leah Brown, Monica Smiley and Sheila Ogle.

Brown runs A10 Clinical Solutions, a full-service clinical trial firm.

Smiley owns Enterprising Women magazine.

Ogle owns and manages the Matthews House and Matthews House Catering.

"Mentorship is the heart and soul of Peace Through Business, and it's because of these American businesswomen that we are so fortunate to have such a successful program," Terry Neese, who developed the program, said in a prepared statement. "We are thrilled to have such strong support from the Cary area this year."

Since the program was created in 2006, more than 100 women have been directly educated and trained. That includes this year's program, which brings 14 Afghan and 16 Rwandan students to the United States in August. Upon completing the program, the students communicate with their mentors for at least a year.

"The women in Cary were mentored on how to be a woman business owner and how to grow their business in Rwanda," said Gaby Remington of public relations firm MMI Public Relations in Cary, which promoted the program locally. "They learned practices they can use in Kigali, Rwanda, to promote themselves and better ensure their success."

Canes partner with SAS to study ticket sales

Carolina Hurricanes fans can thank SAS if they like the team's ticket prices next season.

The team turned to the Cary software giant to analyze ticket sales data and recommend how it could increase revenue from home games at the RBC Center.

They're now formulating plans based on that analysis and intend to announce promotions for single-ticket sales sometime around Labor Day, said Bill Nowicki, director of ticket operations.

While the team isn't divulging details just yet, Nowicki said fans can expect longer lead times for some promotions and more of a focus on targeted audiences than in the past.

Last season, the team offered discounts to groups such as college students and families for specified games, as well as military discounts for all games.

They also made some discounts available only on game day; that may change this year, Nowicki said.

"We have re-evaluated how we are going to handle those promotions specifically, and some will be available for longer periods of time," he said.

The Canes worked with IDeaS, which SAS acquired 12 months ago. Privately owned SAS sells business intelligence and analytics software to companies to analyze their business and predict trends. It has more than 11,000 employees worldwide, including 4,270 in Cary.

RDU sees slower declines in travel

Raleigh-Durham International Airport continued to see a decline in travelers in July.

However, the 5.4 percent decrease in riders traveling through the airport last month was much lower than the 10.5 percent decrease reported by the Airport Authority Board for June. So far this year, overall traffic for the airport is down 11.6 percent.

The airport board says part of the decline is due to a decrease in the number of flights being offered by airlines. The number of seats available to passengers in July was down 7.8 percent when compared with a year ago.

Staff writers Jack Hagel, Jordan Cooke, David Ranii and Sue Stock