Breaking News } Special Weather Statement for Chatham, Durham, Johnston, Wake counties.

An administrative law judge has found that last year, the state improperly analyzed all the proposals to build new hospitals or expand existing ones in Wake County. Both WakeMed and Rex Healthcare won approval to expand their services in the county.

The agreement calls for Rex’s owner, UNC Health Care, to commit $40 million to improve mental health services in Wake County. Leaders of the two hospital systems also vow to not criticize each other publicly.

Two regional hospitals have suspended negotiations about a proposed medical facility in Holly Springs.

WakeMed CEO Bill Atkinson finally found his audience Monday at a legislative committee charged with deciding whether the state should own Rex Hospital, WakeMed's cross-town rival.

Hearts and Minds, Part 1:  Decades of friendship couldn't dull the tension that bubbled between them. On Aug. 17, 2010, Wake County's two largest hospitals were on the verge of a very public war as health care reform brought dizzying changes to the market.

Hearts and Minds, Part 2:  WakeMed Hospital has been a destination for patients without options: the poor, the overlooked, those caught in unexpected tragedy. For decades, this care shaped the hospital's mission. But as a business, it promised to be its downfall.

Hearts and Minds, Part 3:  With different styles, the leaders of Rex and WakeMed find it difficult to make peace. The hospitals had competed in relative harmony for decades. But UNC's purchase of Rex in 2000 brought a dynamic that WakeMed leaders struggled to fully comprehend and manage in the years that followed.