UNC Health System Update
At UNC Health, our mission is to promote the health and well-being of the people of North Carolina.
We are proud of our ONE Great Team for their outstanding clinical care, ground-breaking research and compassion for our patients and each other that exemplifies our Everyday Greatness.
Quality and Safety.
As we look to shape the future of health in North Carolina, we always work from a foundation of providing the highest quality care for our patients. Over the last year, our teams have placed a great deal of focus on quality improvement measures and deserve an immense amount of credit for the results that they have achieved. They also have been recognized by the major rating agencies. We again have three CMS five-star hospitals, UNC Hospitals – for the second year in a row – UNC Health Rex, and UNC Health Pardee. UNC Health is the only system in North Carolina with three five-star hospitals.
Expanded Access.
We have several efforts underway to make it easier for patients to get the care they need and to literally put their healthcare into their own hands. In the last year, we saw a 37% increase in self-scheduling; we continue to improve this functionality, extending it to more clinics and specialties. We‘ve also expanded the use of text messaging, offering patients a more quick and convenient option than the traditional phone call. Referrals can even be scheduled via text message.
Overall, our goal is to simplify the process for our patients. We’ve made a lot of great progress and have even more efforts planned for the year ahead.
We also expanded our footprint in the Triangle, recruiting 60 new primary care physicians and opening five new clinics. At the same time, we are working to increase collaboration and coordination within several specialty care programs that are working closely together to improve clinical quality.
My UNC Chart in Spanish.
Another major accomplishment from the last year is the introduction of My UNC Chart in Spanish. My UNC Chart is the portal that our patients use to view appointments, receive test results, communicate with their care team and pay bills. Having this tool now available in Spanish is a major improvement to the experience of the Spanish-speaking patients we serve.
Total research funding
Education and Research.
Faculty from the UNC School of Medicine continue to make huge impacts with their work as we set another high mark for research funding in the last year. Specifically, funding increased by $21 million to a total of $648 million. Also, the UNC School of Medicine celebrated a major step in its quest to enhance and expand its capacity to train the future healthcare workforce for North Carolina and beyond with the opening of Roper Hall in the Fall of 2023. Designed around the needs of current students, with the flexibility to accommodate future growth, the new facility has reinvigorated medical education on campus.
Supporting Teammates.
Over the last year, our teams continued to enhance our UNC Health for Me programming – meant to support and develop our teammates from recruitment through retirement. A major investment this year was the implementation of living wage adjustments, raising the minimum wage to $17/hour in the Triangle and $15/hour across Non-Triangle entities, impacting over 10,000 teammates.
As a means to develop our teammates, we also launched comprehensive leadership training programming, which can be adjusted to help teammates at all levels of the organization reach their goals and highest potential. Finally, we have continued to refine our teammate well-being program, adding new offerings to support the physical, emotional, and financial well-being of our teammates.
Preparing for the Future.
Over the last year, leaders from throughout UNC Health and the UNC School of Medicine have dedicated countless hours to the development and implementation of our new strategic plan, Forward Together 2030. The priorities of this plan are better coordination throughout the Triangle region, improved quality and efficiency, expanded access to care and a better patient experience, increased investment in our research and education missions as well as our rural health strategy, and enhancements to our workplace culture.
New Children's Hospital
UNC Health is building a world-class children’s health system, starting with a new freestanding children's hospital with approximately 500 beds in the Triangle – the first freestanding children’s hospital in the Carolinas! NC Children’s will offer the most advanced pediatric specialty services to allow us to care for children with the most complex health issues right here in North Carolina. From the front door to our clinical spaces, this new campus will be designed for our children and families. Beyond the hospital, it will also include dedicated children’s behavioral health services, outpatient clinics, research and teaching facilities, hospitality houses (such as the Ronald McDonald House) and the potential for hotels, restaurants, and businesses to support the children and their families traveling for care. We are grateful to the state of North Carolina for $320 million in initial funding for NC Children's. The total cost is expected to be between $2-3 billion, making this one of the largest investments in North Carolina’s history. Planning for the new NC Children’s campus is underway, including efforts to select a location in the Triangle. Construction is expected to start in late 2026 - 2027 and last approximately 6-8 years.
The Strength of Our System.
UNC Health would like to sincerely thank the many, many teammates who came together to serve our patients and support each other in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.
UNC Health has five hospitals in Western North Carolina and thousands of teammates who live and work in the region.
Immediately after the hurricane, teammates from across the state raised their hands and volunteered to travel west to serve and we have deployed more than 260 teammates – physicians and APPs, nurses, respiratory therapists, social workers, law enforcement officers, therapists, chaplains and more – to cover 550 shifts.
Our teams worked tirelessly to restore connectivity for vital phone and internet services at the hospitals while others crisscrossed the state to deliver supplies. We offered free virtual care services in affected counties and saw high utilization across the region. Finally, the UNC Health Foundation has also committed $2.5 million to support teammates’ financial needs in the aftermath of the storm and the first payments to teammates have already gone out.
We invite you to watch this video as our teammates in Western North Carolina share their experiences both working and living through the incredible situation that was, and continues to be, Helene.
