Proposed UNC hospital in Research Triangle Park gets OK from state regulators
UNC Health’s plans to build a hospital in Research Triangle Park have been approved by state regulators.
The 40-bed hospital will be built across N.C. 54 from The Frontier, in the heart of the park. The hospital will have two operating rooms, a 24-hour emergency department and an obstetrical unit for delivering babies that includes two dedicated C-section operating rooms.
UNC says about 300 people will work at the $252 million hospital, which it hopes to open in 2026.
The hospital will be in the Durham portion of RTP, and UNC told state regulators that it expects a large majority of patients will come from Durham County. Many of those patients will work nearby, said spokesman Alan Wolf.
“UNC Health looks forward to adding health services in southern Durham County, which has been without significant medical options for local residents who live and work in the area,” Wolf said in a written statement. “We anticipate serving long-standing companies such as IBM, Cisco Systems, Credit Suisse, BASF, Lenovo, Fidelity, GSK and others, along with some of the newer ones bringing thousands of workers to the area, including Apple.”
UNC requested a “certificate of need” from the state, through a process that aims to prevent hospitals from building unnecessary facilities that drive up health care costs or hurt quality. The state Department of Health and Human Services had determined that Durham County is running a deficit of 40 hospital beds and four operating rooms, and UNC proposed to provide them.
So did Duke Health, which says it could better meet the needs of Durham residents. Duke proposed adding 40 inpatient beds and two operating rooms to Duke University Hospital in Durham and two operating rooms at its Arringdon ambulatory surgery center off Page Road.
WakeMed also opposed the proposed RTP hospital, saying it appeared UNC was discounting the number of patients it would draw from nearby Wake County. UNC told regulators that it expects only 9.2% of patients at the new hospital will come from Wake.
Over those objections, the state issued the certificate of need to UNC. Duke and WakeMed could appeal the decision in court.
The RTP hospital will be one of three to open along the N.C. 540 corridor in coming years. UNC Health Rex Holly Springs hospital on Avent Ferry Road is expected to open in November, while Duke plans to open a 40-bed hospital with a 24-hour emergency room on Green Level West Road in Cary in 2026.
This story was originally published September 29, 2021 at 10:33 AM with the headline "Proposed UNC hospital in Research Triangle Park gets OK from state regulators."
