Our Mission
Lasting Impact’s health & well-being programs are developed and inspired by their experience caring for people in extreme situations, leading teams through extraordinary circumstances, being prepared for any situation and keeping calm under pressure.
With diverse offerings for individuals, organizations & groups, their holistic, science-based approach will help you discover your authentic self, optimize your physical, mental, and emotional health, and teach you how to be present and effective in the moments of your life so you can live with intention, perform with purpose and lead your life with integrity.
Improving lives through sustainable well-being
Dr. Laura Hays is a board-certified emergency physician, expert speaker and certified coach. She was raised in Massachusetts and attended Villanova University before studying photography at the Art Institute of Boston. She combined her passion for science and love of humanity, receiving her MD from Tufts University in Boston. She completed her residency at Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, North Carolina, a top national program.
Since residency, the base of her career has been in the Charlotte region while mission work and service opportunities allowed her to also practice medicine in Honduras and Africa. Dr. Hays has held a leadership position throughout her career.
She has served in various leadership and educational roles, and became the Chair and Medical Director of her department just as the COVID pandemic began. She shepherded her group through this extraordinary time, keeping it intact and effective by strength of leadership.
She is an Assistant Professor at Campbell School of Medicine.
She was peer-voted Doctor of the Year at her sizable medical center.
Dr. Hays has a beautiful yoga practice and is a registered instructor. Her practice focuses on body awareness and how breathing, meditation, and physical postures can alleviate symptoms of common ailments, as well as the science behind it. She is particularly expert in helping people manage stress and anxiety by cultivating their own mind-body connection. She has special talent helping people prevent burnout and achieve harmony and effectiveness.
She can be found wearing a pack on the top of a mountain, in close confident conversation with a child, leading a meeting presentation with the C-suite, cooly directing the controlled chaos of the ER and creating spaces, foods, and experiences for her family.
Laura M. Hays MD FACEP RYT
Dr. Parker Hays is a board-certified emergency physician, expert speaker and certified coach. He grew up in Champaign, Illinois, a university town setting that provided early opportunities for a life of learning, education, coaching, mentorship and service. He graduated in Zoology/Biology from DePauw University and received his MD from the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Chicago. He completed his residency in Emergency Medicine at Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, North Carolina, a top national program.
After residency, he stayed on at Carolinas, serving in academic leadership roles for 20 years while working thousands of hours seeing patients in an urban Level One trauma center. He recruited, trained and mentored hundreds of medical residents, served on countless hospital and education committees, and taught and lectured around the country and the world. He won a national championship in a diagnostic competition and the outstanding teaching award at his program, and rose to the rank of full Professor of EM at the UNC School of Medicine. In the 12 years hence, he has served as a Chair and Medical Director while working as an attending physician in community emergency departments.
While the base of his career has been around Charlotte, he has worked for months at a time on six continents in a variety of robust and austere conditions. He has practiced medicine at the highest levels for over 30 years.
Versatility can be a specialty, and Dr. Hays has embodied this philosophy. He sang the lead in an opera at age 11, chased a state championship on the football field, and was an Eagle Scout. He has backpacked alone across the USA, Europe, and parts of South America. He restores vintage cars from the ground up. He fronted a rock band for 19 years, has spent the night in every state but three, and has busked for minimum wage in Chicago and Prague.
Most proudly, he has been raised by four fantastic children.
Although an emergency physician and leader by training, Dr. Hays has special interest in fitness and leadership mentoring, as well as expertise in effective speaking, communication, and evidence-based aging and longevity medicine.
E. Parker Hays Jr. MD FACEP
logistics coordinator
Raechel is a vibrant and successful entrepreneur and business owner. Rated among the highest ranked event planners in the Carolinas she is particularly talented in creating beautifully harmonized events and transforming spaces that unfold organically for our clients matching the values and purpose of LIW.
Raechel Hamm
Are you ready to gain new clarity & direction, practical knowledge and tools to strengthen your authentic foundation & enhance your experience of your overall life?