UNC Health and Duke University Health System, based in Chapel Hill, N.C., and Durham, N.C., respectively, are uniting to build a comprehensive healthcare campus, featuring the state's first freestanding children's hospital.
The two institutions filed legal documents Jan. 28 with the state to establish a nonprofit entity, North Carolina Children's, according to a joint news release.
NC Children's will feature a 500-bed children's hospital on a 100-plus-acre campus at a yet-to-be-identified site in the Research Triangle region.
The new campus will also include a children's behavioral health center, outpatient clinics, research and teaching facilities, hospitality houses (e.g., Ronald McDonald House) and mixed-use infrastructure to accommodate hotels, restaurants and retail stores, according to the release.
Through the partnership, the institutions seek to provide greater access to highly specialized pediatric care.
"This is an unprecedented partnership between UNC Health and Duke Health, aimed at elevating the care that’s available for all children in North Carolina," Wesley Burks, MD, CEO of UNC Health and dean of the UNC School of Medicine, said in the release. "I'm delighted to work with our colleagues at Duke to create something that will make all North Carolinians proud and change lives for generations to come."
Craig Albanese, MD, CEO of Duke Health, shared the following statement.
"Children are the heart of our future, and families across North Carolina deserve access to the most comprehensive, highest quality care for their children. 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."
The institutions expect the project to take six to eight years, with a groundbreaking by 2027, and cost $2 billion to $3 billion. The state provided $320 million in initial funding for NC Children's.