Duke Health, WakeMed and Lifepoint Health Celebrate Opening of New Rehabilitation Hospital

Duke Health, WakeMed and Lifepoint Health celebrated the opening of Peak Rehabilitation Hospital today in Apex, North Carolina. The 52-bed rehabilitation hospital is the result of a joint venture between Duke Health, WakeMed and Lifepoint Rehabilitation, a business unit of Lifepoint Health, that was announced in 2021. 

“The health challenges of our communities are complex, and we are proud to partner with WakeMed and Lifepoint Health to provide patients and their families access to innovative, cost-effective and high-quality inpatient rehab care,” said Craig Albanese, M.D., chief executive officer of Duke University Health System.

Duke Health and WakeMed are both home to comprehensive rehabilitation programs, accredited through the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF), that support children and adults on their path to recovery and their journey to maximum rehabilitation and independence.

“As a nationally ranked and leading provider of rehabilitation services in the Southeast, we have long discussed ways to expand access to high-quality, compassionate inpatient rehab care by utilizing our combined expertise and resources to help patients recover, regain their independence and rejoin the community after a serious illness or injury,” said Donald Gintzig, WakeMed president and CEO. “This joint venture with Duke Health and Lifepoint represents our commitment to meeting the growing needs of our community while carrying out our mission to strengthen the health of our community.”

Lifepoint Health and Duke Health are long-time partners in providing high-quality health care services through their joint venture, Duke Lifepoint Healthcare, established in 2011. Duke Lifepoint Healthcare has an extensive footprint across North Carolina with nine acute care hospitals and brings together Duke’s expertise in clinical excellence and academic medicine and Lifepoint’s extensive resources, knowledge and experience operating community hospitals. 

“Through 14 years of partnership, Lifepoint Health and Duke Health have evidenced the power of bringing academic research and quality excellence to front-line community hospitals,” said David Dill, chairman and chief executive officer of Lifepoint Health. “I am proud to see the expansion of our partnership and our collaboration with WakeMed as we bring vitally needed specialty care to communities like Apex. Today is an exciting day for our team at Lifepoint Rehabilitation, and I know that as we open the doors to Peak Rehabilitation Hospital and welcome our first patients, we are advancing our mission of making communities healthier.”

The two-story rehabilitation hospital spans more than 60,000 square feet and includes all private rooms, large interdisciplinary therapy gyms, therapeutic courtyards with gardens, walking paths and pickleball, specially designed rooms to treat dialysis patients and a scaled transitional living apartment to help prepare patients for their return to activities of daily living. 

“Today is a remarkable day for patients in and beyond Wake County,” said Rob Warfuel, chief executive officer of Peak Rehabilitation Hospital. “Alongside our colleagues at Lifepoint Rehabilitation and our partners at Duke Health and WakeMed, we have built an industry-leading clinical team here in Apex, specially trained to provide intensive, individualized treatments that aid patients in recovery, and we’re able to provide that care in a facility that was designed in every way to serve their unique needs.”

Lifepoint Rehabilitation will manage day-to-day operations for the hospital, providing acute rehabilitation care for patients who have experienced a loss of function from injury or illness, such as stroke, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, complex neurological disorders, orthopedic conditions, multiple traumas, amputation and other injuries or disorders.

For more information, please visit PeakRehabHospital.com.

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About Duke Health

Duke Health encompasses the world-class academic health care and research of the Duke University Health System, Duke University School of Medicine, Duke University School of Nursing, Duke-NUS Medical School, Duke Global Health Institute, and the Duke-Margolis Institute for Health Policy. The health system delivers care across three hospitals (Duke University Hospital, Duke Regional Hospital, and Duke Raleigh Hospital, a campus of Duke University Hospital) and numerous outpatient services, including Duke Primary Care, Duke Health Integrated Practices, Duke HomeCare & Hospice, Duke Health and Wellness, and multiple affiliations.

About WakeMed

Serving the community since 1961, WakeMed is a not-for-profit health care system founded and based in Raleigh, N.C. WakeMed exists to improve the health and well-being of our community by providing outstanding and compassionate care to all. WakeMed’s 1,003-bed system comprises a network of facilities throughout the Triangle area, including three full-service hospitals, eight emergency departments, a dedicated Children’s Hospital and Rehabilitation Hospital, two exceptional Trauma Centers—a Level I Trauma Center in Raleigh and a Level III Trauma Center in Cary, and more than 165 physician and physical therapy practice offices. WakeMed’s mission-driven team includes nearly 12,000 employees, 1,200 volunteers and 1,300 affiliated physicians, along with the more than 800 physicians and advanced practice providers with WakeMed Physician Practices—all representing the best minds and the biggest hearts and the finest quality in health care and community health. For more information, visit www.wakemed.org or follow WakeMed on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.

About Lifepoint Health

Lifepoint Health is a leading healthcare provider that serves patients, clinicians, communities and partner organizations across the healthcare continuum. Driven by a mission of making communities healthier, the company has a growing diversified healthcare delivery network comprised of more than 50,000 dedicated employees, 62 community hospital campuses, more than 65 rehabilitation and behavioral health hospitals and 250 additional sites of care, including managed acute rehabilitation units, outpatient centers and post-acute care facilities. Through its innovation strategy, Lifepoint Forward, the company is developing meaningful solutions to enhance quality, increase access to care, and improve value across the Lifepoint footprint and communities across the country. For more information about the company, visit www.LifepointHealth.net.

About Lifepoint Rehabilitation

With more than 45 freestanding inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRFs), Lifepoint Rehabilitation is a partner of choice for many major hospital systems in the creation of joint venture operations that are industry-leading in clinical and financial outcomes. Through our IRFs and more than 300 hospital-based rehabilitation units, medical/surgical and outpatient therapy settings, Lifepoint Rehabilitation brings proven rehabilitation management and services expertise to help our patients recover and return home quickly from a number of conditions, including strokes, brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, orthopedic injuries, neurological conditions, amputations and trauma. Lifepoint Rehabilitation is a business unit of Brentwood, Tennessee-based Lifepoint Health. 

Sarah Avery | Duke Health
(919) 724-5343
 sarah.avery@duke.edu

Kristin Kelly | WakeMed
(919) 350-5921
krkelly@wakemed.org

Emily Serck | Lifepoint Health
(615) 920-7730
emily.serck@lptn.net