State OKs plans for Rex cancer center

State regulators have approved Rex Healthcare’s application to build a cancer hospital at Rex's flagship hospital in west Raleigh.

The $60.1 million hospital is scheduled to open in 2014, and officials said it will include the latest technology in cancer treatment as well as resources for patients, such as garden spaces, a boutique and special clinics.

“We are grateful that the state recognized the need for a comprehensive cancer care center in our area,” David Strong, president of Rex Healthcare, said in a statement. “As the population of Wake and surrounding counties continues to grow and age, we will now be better able to meet patients’ increasing needs for care with the N.C. Cancer Hospital at Rex.”

The project will be built in front of the existing cancer center at Rex Hospital and will involve constructing 71,542 square feet of space and renovating another 21,624 square feet.

Rex officials said patients also will benefit from the hospital's affiliation with UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill, which opened the North Carolina Cancer Hospital last fall.

The project is one of several expansions and upgrades planned at Rex.

The hospital also wants to consolidate its heart and vascular treatment operations, renovate its operating rooms to accommodate current technology, create a separate entrance for surgical patients and visitors and build a connector between the new Heart & Vascular Center and the patient tower.