
Not-for-profit healthcare system WakeMed has submitted two certificates of need with the US state of North Carolina for the construction of a mental health hospital and an acute care facility.
Following necessary approval, the healthcare system will build the 150-bed WakeMed Mental Health Hospital.
Earlier, the North Carolina government granted 50 mental health beds to WakeMed, which has requested for 100 more beds under the latest certificate of need.
WakeMed Health & Hospitals president and CEO Donald Gintzig said: “As the pandemic took its toll on our community’s families, we quickly realised that a 50-bed mental health hospital is not enough.
“While the new facility will be a WakeMed entity, it will be part of our entire community’s concerted effort to provide more abundant, specialised inpatient and outpatient mental health and substance use care and services to the residents of our region.”
WakeMed also announced plans to build a 45-bed acute care facility. The WakeMed Garner Hospital to come up in North Carolina will also feature 24 emergency department bays.

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By GlobalDataAt present, WakeMed has three healthplexes located in Garner, Brier Creek and Apex that have full-service emergency departments (EDs).
Once approved, the 12-bed Garner Healthplex ED will be shifted to the new hospital with 12 additional beds.
The Garner Healthplex will then be used as a medical park to offer ambulatory services such as imaging and lab.
Gintzig added: “These projects reflect our community-wide commitment to provide area individuals and families with greater access to the right healthcare in the right healthcare settings.
“We have to plan today to meet the needs of an even larger community in the future. These two new facilities will help us do that.”