Raleigh, N.C. — The North Carolina Division of Health Service Regulation has approved Rex Healthcare’s Certificate of Need application to build a three-story outpatient care center.

The center, to be located across Blue Ridge Road from Rex Hospital on Macon Pond Road, will have almost 130,000 square feet of space for the majority of the hospital's outpatient services. The new complex also will include an 85,000-square-foot medical office building.

“With continued growth in Wake County and increasing demand for quality health care services, we believe this outpatient center will allow us to meet the needs of our patients now and in the future,” Rex President David Strong said in a statement. “This new facility will provide more efficient and expanded outpatient services, and it will create space in our main hospital so we can better organize our inpatient services.”

Rex plans to move eight operating rooms and four major procedure rooms from the hospital to the outpatient center and add two minor procedure rooms, 16 observation beds and an urgent care center. Most diagnostic imaging equipment, including an MRI scanner, and all physical, occupational and speech therapy services will also move to the new building.

The outpatient center is expected to open in July 2011.