Duke Health, UNC Health to partner on new $2 billion children’s hospital in the Triangle

Duke Health and UNC Health announced Tuesday that they are collaborating to develop North Carolina’s first standalone children’s hospital, which will be built in the Triangle area.

The facility, called “N.C. Children’s,” was characterized as a “decade-long goal” for both institutions and is expected to lessen the strain on other regional facilities amid increased demand for care.

The roughly $2 billion venture will include a 500-bed hospital, ambulatory surgical center, outpatient care center, medical office building and children’s behavioral health center. Additionally, it will be accompanied by “a robust research and education enterprise backed by the medical schools of both universities,” per a Tuesday statement from Duke Health.

“Children are the heart of our future, and families across North Carolina deserve access to the most comprehensive, highest quality care for their children,” said Craig Albanese, CEO of the Duke University Health System. “This is a tremendous and unique opportunity to work together to reimagine how we deliver life-changing care to our region’s most vulnerable, and we are grateful for the support of our state’s legislature.”

Construction of the facility is expected to begin by 2027 and last roughly six years. The main hospital is slated to begin operating in the early 2030s, while other services including the medical office building and behavioral health hospital may open earlier.

The hospital is estimated to occupy a 100-plus-acre campus in the Triangle, though an exact location has not been determined. In addition to medical facilities, the complex will also feature “play areas and rehabilitation facilities” and “mixed-use infrastructure” with possible hotel, retail and dining offerings.

According to the Tuesday release, all of Duke Health and UNC Health’s pediatric-related clinical services, programs and operations will be transferred to N.C. Children’s once the facility is completed. Pediatric education and research activities will remain at the Duke School of Medicine and UNC School of Medicine “for the foreseeable future.”

Duke Health and UNC Health are the two largest health care providers in the Triangle. Duke Health operates three inpatient facilities in the region — Duke University Hospital, Duke Regional Hospital and Duke Raleigh Hospital — while UNC Health currently oversees a network of five hospitals in the Triangle and additional facilities throughout the state.

Serious discussions about the venture were spurred by an initial $320 million in state funding allocated to UNC Health for the project in 2023.

The move comes amid ongoing shortages in pediatric hospital beds in the state, with officials at Duke and UNC hoping that the new facility will ease the strain on providers and connect more North Carolinians with quality care. As of Tuesday evening, Duke Health reported operating at 95% capacity, with UNC Health just below at 94.7% and WakeMed at 90%.

“By uniting our institutions and disciplines, we can give children the healthy lives they deserve, achieve remarkable breakthroughs and nurture the future leaders of health care,” said Mary Klotman, chief academic officer at Duke Health, executive vice president for health affairs at the University and dean of the School of Medicine.


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Zoe Kolenovsky | News Editor

Zoe Kolenovsky is a Trinity junior and news editor of The Chronicle's 120th volume.

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