Durham, N.C.-based Duke Health filed two certificate-of-need applications June 15 with the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services to increase construction costs for its Duke Health Cary (N.C.) expansion while also seeking to build a new freestanding emergency department.
Duke Health broke ground on the Cary expansion in June 2025 after receiving approval in 2021. The June 2026 CON application would raise the total capital cost from $235 million to $854.2 million, or around $619.2 million, according to a CON obtained by Becker’s. The health system pointed to a jump in construction inflation for the cost increase.
The Cary project involves the relocation of up to 40 acute care beds and two shared operating rooms from Duke Raleigh Hospital, which will be completed in two phases. The first phases, which is on track to open in early 2027, comprises an emergency department, operating rooms and four inpatient beds housed in a medical office building. The rest of the inpatient hospital is expected to open in July 2029, the certificate of need said.
“Duke Health is committed to expanding access to care across Wake County, bringing high quality services closer to where people live and work,” system officials said in a July 6 statement shared with Becker’s.
The Duke Garner Emergency Department, which will be operated under Duke Raleigh Hospital, will cost $32.3 million, according to another certificate of need obtained by Becker’s.
It will comprise nine treatment rooms, one isolation room, one trauma room, fast track and triage space, on-site imaging, laboratory services and pharmacy services. The ED would be located on the first floor of the system’s new medical office building.
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