Rex also plans to expand its main Raleigh hospital to keep up with projected demand

RALEIGH, N.C. – Sept. 11, 2024 – UNC Health Rex has filed plans with state regulators to build a new community hospital in Wake Forest, a project that will increase access and improve care in a fast-growing region of the state.

UNC Health Rex recently filed two Certificate of Need applications. The first would add 20 acute care beds and two operating rooms at UNC Health Rex’s main Raleigh hospital. The second application is to build a 50-bed community hospital in Wake Forest.

The projects require approval from the state’s CON office, part of the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services. That office has scheduled a public hearing on the projects, as well as several competing proposals, at 9:30 a.m. on Oct. 17, at the McKimmon Conference & Training Center in Raleigh. The CON office is expected to issue a decision next year.

“Our proposals will allow us to meet the growing health care needs of our community and begin to alleviate our current capacity constraints,” said Kirsten Riggs, interim president of UNC Health Rex. “We are eager to begin development of a new hospital in northern Wake County and to expand our main Raleigh campus. We want to be ready to provide excellent care for our region’s aging and growing population closer to home.”

The Wake Forest hospital would be built on approximately 50 acres now owned by the Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary.  This land is at the corner of Capital Boulevard and Stadium Drive, behind a current shopping center anchored by Lowes Foods. The new hospital would eventually employ more than 500 people.

UNC Health Rex has continued to expand to keep up with increasing demand in one of the state’s fastest-growing regions. During recent years, the organization opened a new, 50-bed community hospital in Holly Springs and a new Cancer Center across the street from its main Raleigh campus. UNC Health Rex also continues to receive numerous accolades as one of the best hospitals in North Carolina from Newsweek, US News, Business North Carolina and others.

UNC Health Rex holds the distinction as the only hospital in North Carolina to earn straight “A” grades for patient safety from the Leapfrog Group since that organization began grading hospitals in 2012. UNC Health Rex one of only 15 hospitals nationwide with that honor.

About UNC Health
UNC Health is a state entity and an affiliated enterprise of the University of North Carolina system, comprised of 15 hospitals, including UNC Health Rex in Raleigh and Holly Springs, 19 hospital campuses and more than 900 clinics along with the clinical patient care programs of the UNC School of Medicine (SOM). It exists to improve the health and well-being of North Carolinians and others we serve and to further the teaching mission of the University of North Carolina SOM. UNC Health provided more than $522 million in charity care during the last five years. Our hospitals have received numerous awards and recognition for quality care, patient safety and the overall patient experience. For more information, please visit unchealth.org.