Chapel Hill, N.C.-based UNC Health and the state department of health have asked the North Carolina Supreme Court to hear a yearslong case involving UNC's plan to build a 40-bed hospital in the Durham, N.C., portion of Research Triangle Park, according to The Carolina Journal.
Four things to know:
1. State officials approved UNC's plan to build the $252 million community hospital in September 2021, but the project has been at a "standstill" after appeals from Durham-based Duke Health, attorneys representing UNC said in court documents filed Sept. 10.
2. North Carolina's department of health selected UNC over Duke to win a certificate of need for 40 new hospital beds and two operating rooms in Research Triangle Park, one of the fastest-growing regions in the state.
3. However, in a 2-1 decision last month, North Carolina's court of appeals bumped the case back to the office of administrative hearings to address zoning issues, further delaying the project. This is one of multiple disputes between Duke and UNC for hospital beds in Durham County.
4. "Remand in this case will result in unnecessary delay, additional intermediate appeals, and substantial harm to the public. Patient choice of beds and [operating rooms] will remain improperly limited in the Durham County community, and patients will continue to have only one choice of provider," UNC attorneys argued. "These public health concerns highlight the significant public interest component of the underlying issues in this case. Those issues are ripe for final resolution by this court of last resort, which is best equipped to put this case quickly back on track in the fewest steps possible."
Spokespersons for UNC and Duke told Becker's that they do not comment on pending litigation.