COVID-19 surge postpones opening of UNC Rex's new Holly Springs hospital
The coronavirus pandemic has pushed back the opening of UNC Rex Healthcare's hospital in Holly Springs, officials said Wednesday.
The 50-bed UNC Health Rex Holly Springs Hospital was originally scheduled to open in September, but officials have postponed it to November to concentrate staff at the Raleigh hospital, which is dealing with a surge in COVID-19 patients.
"It’s disappointing, to say the least," said Roy Tempke, chief operating officer of the new hospital.
More than 400 people will work at the Holly Springs hospital, and Tempke said 40 percent of that staff is training at the Raleigh hospital.
"Rex Hospital leadership would have to backfill those positions, so it just didn’t seem to make sense with the current surge," he said. "We’re needed in the larger organization, and that is the best decision for the larger organization and the people we care for."
Forty-five people were being treated for COVID-19 at Rex on Wednesday, including 14 in the intensive care unit, officials said.
"It’s much safer to have these patients come to and the co-workers work in units that are well-experienced in handling this type of patient," Tempke said.
Officials at hospitals across central North Carolina have expressed concern recently as their facilities and ICUs filled with COVID-19 patients, most of whom aren't vaccinated against coronavirus.
Some hospitals have set up tents to care for the overflow patients, and WakeMed put a dozen beds in the lobby of its flagship hospital in Raleigh. UNC Health Southeast in Lumberton is using a mobile morgue because its regular morgue is full of people who died from the virus.
"It’s trying. I think everybody is tired," said Tonya Faulkner, director of nursing and clinical operations for the Holly Springs hospital. "We went through the COVID surge earlier, and many of us had a relief when we saw the COVID numbers going down" earlier in the summer.
UNC Rex is also reducing the number of non-emergency surgeries and procedures, officials said.
Tempke said that, if the surge in cases and hospitalizations peaks later than early October, the Holly Springs hospital's opening may be delayed even longer.
"There’s a risk we could literally fill up a brand new hospital with many, many COVID patients," he said.
The eight-story Holly Springs hospital will serve the southern Wake County community with 50 inpatient beds, operating rooms, a full-service emergency department and more.
