Duke University Hospital (Durham, N.C.). Duke University Hospital is the flagship hospital for Duke Health and is licensed for 938 beds. The hospital has more than 10,000 full-time employees, including 1,925 faculty in the clinical program, 211 faculty in the basic sciences and 90 faculty in the nursing school.
Although the hospital is just 76 years old — opening to patients as Duke Hospital on July 21, 1930 — its history is rich with medical firsts. Duke surgeons were first to use systemic hypothermia during cardiac surgery in 1956, and Duke established the first physician assistant program in the country in 1965. In 1985, the hospital was one of two to conduct the first human clinical trials of AZT, which is commonly used to improve the quality of life for patients with AIDS.
Duke University Hospital is the No. 1 hospital in North Carolina, according to U.S. News & World Report's 2015-16 rankings. It is also nationally ranked in 12 adult specialties and eight pediatric specialties, landing it as one of the publication's top 15 hospitals in the country.
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