Rex looks to expand in Holly Springs, Raleigh

The hospital system says it will seek Certificates of Need from the state Division of Health Service Regulation for 101 acute-care beds, including a 50-bed acute care hospital and cancer center in Holly Springs, a 40-bed acute care hospital in Wakefield and 11 more beds at Rex Hospital.

Rex also wants to move at least 100 beds to begin construction on a new patient tower at its main campus.

“Wake County is seeing unprecedented growth,” David Strong, president of Rex Healthcare, said in a statement. “Rex Healthcare itself has also seen unprecedented growth in this time period. ... We will continue to increase access to quality health care in all areas of the county to meet demand, and approval of these applications will help us to do just that.”

Rex has a medical practice in Holly Springs and is opening a 9,000-square-foot facility in November on 20 acres near the intersection of N.C. Highway 55 and Avent Ferry Road. The 50-bed hospital would build upon the existing infrastructure and be located on the same property, officials said, providing services like a birth center and cancer center for residents of southern Wake County, officials said.

Northern Wake County also is growing quickly, officials said, so Rex wants to expand its presence in Wakefield. The hospital system already provides outpatient surgery, oncology, urgent care and imaging services there, and officials said they continue to see a need for expanded health care services for nearby patients, especially in specialties like obstetrics and gynecology.