WakeMed Announces $62M Women's Hospital

WakeMed Health & Hospitals will break ground on its third hospital in Wake County this fall, the Raleigh, NC-based health system announced this week.

The $62 million, 90,000-square-foot, 61-bed acute care WakeMed North Hospital will be attached to the existing WakeMed North Healthplex, and is targeted for opening in October, 2013, with a focus on inpatient women's health services, including obstetric and gynecological services, and comprehensive preventive, diagnostic, and therapeutic care.

The Healthplex will continue to serve men and children through the existing freestanding emergency department, outpatient surgery, imaging, lab, and physician services, WakeMed said in a media release.

"Since opening in 2002, WakeMed North Healthplex's consumer-driven volumes have consistently outpaced projections, demonstrating the great demand for health care services in this community," Bill Atkinson, MD, WakeMed president/CEO said in a media release. "Currently WakeMed North Healthplex offers a full-service, 24/7 emergency department, ambulatory surgery center, imaging and laboratory services, and a host of additional clinical capabilities.  The campus also features an 85,000 square foot medical office building."

Atkinson called transitioning the Healthplex site to a hospital "the next logical step as the infrastructure is already in place and the community has a critical mass of 262,000 residents living within a seven-mile radius of the facility.  While the hospital will initially open with a women's focus, our plan is for it to continue to expand to meet the needs of women, men and children alike."

Construction of the North Hospital is expected to create 500 construction jobs and will increase the current 150 employees to 442 full-time equivalent employees with an average salary of $48,760 by the second year of hospital operation.

Private, not-for-profit WakeMed said it received approval to add 41 acute care beds to WakeMed North Hospital in 2009, in addition to the 20 acute care beds already approved for relocation from WakeMed Raleigh Campus.