UNC Health recently received approval from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) to build a UNC Health Hospital in Research Triangle Park, Durham. Earlier in the year, UNC submitted a certificate of need application to the NCDHHS seeking approval to build a 40-bed community hospital estimated at about $252M. UNC was favored over Duke Health and the North Carolina Specialty Hospital, who also submitted their applications to NCDHHS.
The decision to approve UNC Health’s Hospital in Research Triangle Park, was made in accordance with the state medical facilities plan which identified the need for 40 additional acute care beds and four additional operating rooms in the Durham County/Caswell County service area by 2023.
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Located at the southern part of Durham County near the intersection of highways 54 and 147,this new Hospital in Research Triangle Park, will be a 24/7 emergency facility consisting of two operating rooms, an obstetrical unit for delivering babies, and imaging services. According to UNC, their new hospital, is expected to open in 2026 and provide up to 300 jobs for the citizens in the area.
UNC is also confident that a large majority of its patients will come from Durham County and only about 9.2% of the prospective patients of this new Hospital in Research Triangle Park, are likely to come from Wake county; this notion led to some objections from WakeMed and Duke Health, who are of the of opinion that UNC is discounting patients that could be drawn from other nearby areas. But despite these objections, the state issued the certificate of need to UNC Health.
UNC Health officials pointed out that the development of this Hospital in Research Triangle Park is intended to ensure accessibility to medical care services in one of the Triangle’s fastest-growing regions. Alan Wolf, one of the hospital’s spokespersons said, “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.”
