Cutting-edge: The Triangle healthcare network is a leader in medical research, development and life sciences

Cutting-edge:

The Triangle healthcare network is a leader in medical research, development and life sciences

Raleigh-Durham’s healthcare sector already supports an estimated 2 million people but with exponential population growth, that number is rising. This presents challenges and opportunities for the providers in a region that hosts several world-acclaimed institutions, providing access to the most advanced technology and leading-edge medicine.

Like every other healthcare sector in the country, Raleigh-Durham’s network was severely tested by the COVID-19 pandemic, with providers stressed by saturation and revenues damaged as profit-generating elective procedures were put on hold. But the sector is emerging from the pandemic as vaccinations continue and is already rebounding.

In addition to Duke University Health System, notable hospitals are the nonprofit UNC Medical Center in Chapel Hill, providing 945 beds and employing 13,000 people, alongside fellow nonprofit UNC REX Healthcare, which has 665 beds and employs 7,300. WakeMed Health and Hospitals is a network of three nonprofit hospitals with 919 beds based in Raleigh. Duke University Hospital alone is nationally ranked in 11 adult specialties and nine children’s specialties, while the UNC Hospitals claim national ranking in three adult specialties and seven children’s specialties. The Duke University Hospital is one of the state’s largest hospitals in terms of patient beds and generates around $8.2 billion in gross patient revenues per year. UNC’s Chapel Hill medical center brings in about $5.4 billion in patient revenue.

Landscape The presence of nonprofit and teaching hospitals has helped establish the Triangle area as a leader in the medical research, development and life sciences segments but the pandemic forced players to hit the pause button as the contagion spread and cases mounted. In Durham County alone, there were over 25,000 total confirmed cases by early August 2021 with the mortality rate well below average at 0.8%. After a peak toward the end of 2020 and into 2021, hospitalizations in the county tailed off and have remained below 60 per week since March. As of early August, more than three-quarters of residents 12 years and older had received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, with 63% fully vaccinated.

Despite the Triangle’s commendable handling of the pandemic, the virus has undoubtedly put huge strain on the region’s healthcare providers. One way in which the hospitals were hit was in delays to surgeries. ( )