WHR Architects, Rex Healthcare Celebrate Topping Out of North Carolina Heart & Vascular Hospital

RALEIGH, N.C. — WHR Architects recently celebrated the topping out of the North Carolina Heart & Vascular Hospital at the construction site of the new facility in Raleigh. The ceremony, with the placement of a final steel girder signed by hundreds of Rex Healthcare co-workers, marks the key stage of construction for the cardiovascular hospital.

“WHR worked closely with a full complement of Rex co-workers and physician partners in the project visioning and the design development of the new eight-story, 300,000-square-foot hospital,” said Mark Vaughan AIA, ACHA, medical planner for the project. “The involvement of the large team, one of the most inclusive we have ever worked with, proved to be especially positive. From operational planning to architectural image — the new hospital is truly designed to meet their goals.

The new Heart & Vascular Hospital, designed to bring all of Rex’s cardiac care together in one place, consists of 114-licensed beds, including 72 step-down/telemetry beds, a 20-bed cardiovascular intensive care unit and 22 acuity-adaptable beds. Diagnostic and treatment procedure spaces include six cath labs, two electrophysiology labs, two interventional radiology labs, two hybrid ORs, a 10-bed PACU and a 47-bed prep recovery unit. The new facility will improve access to specialized cardiovascular care with innovative treatments, education, prevention and research for patients throughout central and eastern North Carolina.

WHR’s cardiac care experience includes facilities for Oklahoma Heart Hospital North Campus, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Hillcrest Oklahoma Heart Institute, Tulsa, Oklahoma; The Louis and Peaches Owen Heart Hospital at Trinity Mother Frances Hospital, Tyler, Texas; the Houston Methodist DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center, Houston, Texas and the Memorial Hermann Heart & Vascular Institute in Houston, Texas.

WHR’s recent national healthcare and research project experience includes work with CHRISTUS St. Vincent Regional Medical Center in Santa Fe, New Mexico; Stamford Hospital’s New Hospital in Stamford, Connecticut; Jersey Shore University Medical Center Cancer Center in Neptune, New Jersey; Children’s Medical Center Dallas; Houston Methodist Hospital’s North Campus expansion and Memorial Hermann Hospital’s Texas Trauma Institute in the Texas Medical Center. Internationally, WHR is working on the Bispebjerg New Hospital Laboratory and Logistics Building in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Rendering courtesy of WHR Architects.