Letter from the CEO and Board Chair

The last few years have shown the strength of our health system. Through numerous challenges, we have proven time and again that we are stronger together, that we can move quickly, and that we can adapt to work in new and different ways.

Now, we are taking those many lessons learned and putting them into practice as we continue our work as North Carolina’s healthcare system as we provide care to patients in all of the state's 100 counties.

As you’ll note in this report’s “Year in Review” article, we are focused on quality and safety in our delivery of clinical care. Among other accolades, this hard work was recognized in 2023’s CMS quality ratings as UNC Hospitals improved to a 5-Star ranking for the first time. UNC Health Rex and UNC Health Appalachian Regional were also rated as 5-Stars. UNC Health is the only system in North Carolina with three 5-star facilities. While we pride ourselves on being on the forefront of research and innovation, that means nothing if we are not providing quality care to all patients. We are so proud of our achievements this year and grateful to our teams for their commitment to this area.

UNC Health has made expanding child and adolescent behavioral health access a systemwide priority and achieved great results over this last year. In partnership with the NC Department of Health and Human Services, we opened UNC Hospitals Youth Behavioral Health in early November 2023. The 54-bed facility is located in Butner.

As North Carolina’s health system, we are proud to partner with the state to expand access to more patients and especially grateful for the investment in the creation of a new freestanding, flagship children’s enterprise for North Carolina. This new children’s enterprise will offer families in the Carolinas and beyond a place that is comparable in clinical and academic scale to any of the top 10 children’s hospitals in the country. It will also include a child and adolescent psychiatric hospital. A project of this magnitude will take several years to complete, but our teams are already working to set an incredible vision.

As we look at our changing world of healthcare, UNC Health is moving forward together to better serve the people of North Carolina. Thank you for your support as we work to fulfill our mission every day.