The NC Children’s team has been busy planning the new campus. We have chosen our Apex, NC, location, seated our Board of Directors, and hired the project leadership team. We will begin the architecture and design process in Spring 2026, with the goal of breaking ground in 2027.

We are also making progress toward our $1 billion-plus philanthropic goal.

Next steps in Spring 2026 are to begin a series of “user group” meetings to get input from pediatric experts, those who support pediatric programs and services at our legacy children’s hospital, and patient families.

We will share regular updates as planning progresses through our social media channels. Please email us at info@ncchildrens.org with any questions, and follow us at:

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NC Children’s has its own governance, with a board of directors comprised of leaders from UNC Health and Duke Health, North Carolina business and community leaders.

There is also an executive team in place made up of experienced clinical and administrative leaders who are responsible for the day-to-day planning of NC Children’s. The executive team is supported by closely managed and structured workstreams.

UNC Health, Duke Health, Duke University School of Medicine and UNC School of Medicine are helping shape the campus infrastructure and clinical programs that NC Children’s will offer.

NC Children’s has its own governance, with a board of directors comprised of leaders from UNC Health and Duke Health, North Carolina business and community leaders.

There is also an executive team in place made up of experienced clinical and administrative leaders who are responsible for the day-to-day planning of NC Children’s. The executive team is supported by closely managed and structured workstreams.

UNC Health, Duke Health, Duke University School of Medicine and UNC School of Medicine are helping shape the campus infrastructure and clinical programs that NC Children’s will offer.

For NC Children’s to be among the best children’s hospitals in the nation, it must meet the needs of patients and their families, providers, students, and researchers. As the planning for the clinical programs, infrastructure, technology, and operational processes begins, the input from all these stakeholders is crucial.

NC Children’s workstreams are guided by demonstrated best practices from the most respected and experienced independent children's hospitals in the nation, and peer-reviewed evidence as indicated.

It is too early to address specific employment or benefits; we are currently focused on foundational work, such as identifying a location, physical plant requirements, and financial support. Planning for operations/employment will be addressed at a later time.

The NC Children’s leadership team is focused on creating a destination for clinicians, researchers and teammates that will include competitive benefits, salaries, and a world-class culture.   

One of our goals will be to make the transition to NC Children’s as simple as possible for our existing faculty, clinicians and teammates. We don’t know all the details yet, but will share them as they are confirmed throughout the joint planning process.

NC Children’s will be a separate entity, so all new clinicians and teammates after a certain point will be new hires. 

NC Children’s will be served by faculty from Duke University School of Medicine and The University of North Carolina School of Medicine.

NC Children’s will develop a practice model for providers from both Duke and UNC, allowing them to retain their existing academic appointments. NC Children’s will have an open medical staff, meaning that qualified providers may apply for privileges, even if they are not affiliated with either school.

As we confirm more details about faculty appointments, we will share that information widely with our faculty members and teammates, as well as the pediatric teaching hospital community.

NC Children’s will be a community and statewide asset, adding much needed capacity and sub-specialty care that our state lacks today. NC Children’s will seek to partner with and support pediatric hospitals across the state to ensure that all our state’s children get the specialty care that they need, as close to home as possible.

Our plan is to care for the many children who must leave the state to access some or all aspects of their care.

NC Children’s will employ world class specialty and subspecialty physicians. The plan is to support hospitals across the state, building capacity to serve our rapidly growing pediatric population. NC Children’s can accept referrals from around the state, but our priority is to understand how we can best serve the providers who care for children in their own communities. 

NC Children’s will also play an important role in tackling the intensifying state-wide mental health crisis among children by working with communities and providers across the state. We will offer a multidisciplinary behavioral health center with approximately 70 inpatient beds and ambulatory services to serve the children of North Carolina in the most appropriate way, as close to home as possible.

NC Children’s will accelerate research and discovery for all children in our state and extend access to clinical trials and translational research conducted by our two schools of medicine. The prospects for research are very exciting.

NC Children’s will employ world class specialty and subspecialty physicians. The plan is to support hospitals across the state, building capacity to serve our rapidly growing pediatric population. NC Children’s can accept referrals from around the state, but our priority is to understand how we can best serve the providers who care for children in their own communities.  

At all times, decisions about patient care at NCC will be made by the physician team, in a way that is clinically appropriate for the child and family.

We anticipate that many of the neonates currently cared for at Duke Health and UNC health will be cared for in the hospitals where they were born, to remain close to their mothers. However, the sickest babies will be cared for at NC Children’s based on clinical criteria to be determined as the planning process continues. 

Both hospital campuses are currently experiencing space constraints, and we do not anticipate that changing. We anticipate that both UNC Health and Duke Health will have plans to backfill the space that will be vacated when the pediatric service line moves to the new NC Children’s campus.

The building of NC Children’s will be separate from the operation of UNC Children’s and Duke Children’s.  Both organizations will continue to make the appropriate investments in the operation of our pediatric service lines to ensure they continue to provide the best care for our children and their families while we also plan and build the new NC Children’s campus.

We are incredibly appreciative of the $320 million in funding provided by North Carolina legislative leaders to get this projected started. Philanthropy is another important part of fulfilling our mission. We will rely on the generosity of donors to help build this world class children’s health campus.

UNC Health purchased the land in Apex for NC Children’s using portions of the initial funds appropriated from the state legislature, with plans to transfer or lease the land in perpetuity to NC Children’s.

The total purchase price is $93M, or approximately $422,000 per acre. The land is a good value given its access to major roadways, a growing population center, and to the utilities and infrastructure planned for the larger Veridea campus.

We are committed to building the first freestanding children’s hospital on the Apex property.

We remain grateful for the state’s initial investment and continue to have regular meaningful conversations with legislators and their teams to ensure they understand the need and impact that NC Children’s will have for children and their families across North Carolina.