The North Carolina Division of Health Service Regulation approved the expansion, which will make services more convenient and reduce congestion, according a media release from Rex.

The center, which will 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 outpatient services.

In addition, the Macon Pond site will include an 85,000 square foot medical office building.

As part of the new center, Rex Hospital will relocate eight existing operating rooms; four existing major procedure rooms and add two more minor procedure rooms; move most diagnostic imaging facilities and relocate one MRI scanner; add 16 observation beds; move rehabilitation services, including physical, occupational and speech therapy; and operate an urgent care center.

The Macon Pond facility, which is expected to be complete in July 2011, is Phase I of Rex Hospital’s Master Facility Plan, which was developed to guide the hospital’s projected growth in the next 30 years.

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