Duke, WakeMed open a new rehab hospital in Apex. And it has pickleball.
Duke Health and WakeMed have teamed up with a national company to open a new hospital in Apex that’s unusual in more ways than one.
Peak Rehabilitation Hospital will care for people recovering from debilitating medical conditions, such as stroke or orthopedic injuries or major surgery or illness. The 52-bed hospital includes therapy gyms, courtyards with gardens, walking paths and something you don’t find at many hospitals: pickleball courts.
There’s also a transitional apartment where patients can practice the activities of daily life before going home.
The rehab hospital is a rare joint venture for two of the Triangle’s big medical systems. Duke and WakeMed are joined by a Tennessee-based company, Lifepoint Health, which has more than 40 inpatient rehabilitation centers around the country.
Duke and Lifepoint Health have worked together since 2011, through a joint venture called Duke Lifepoint Healthcare that operates nine acute care hospitals across the state.
But this is the first medical facility built and run jointly by Duke and WakeMed. It predates the recent announcement by Duke and UNC Health that they would build a 500-bed standalone children’s hospital in the Triangle.
The new hospital does not increase the number of rehabilitation beds approved for Wake County. Instead, Duke and WakeMed asked state regulators for permission to move 33 existing beds from WakeMed’s campus in Raleigh and seven from Duke Regional in Durham. Duke held a license for the remaining 12 but hadn’t used it yet.
By combining already licensed beds in Apex, the hospital allows the two health systems to provide services in a place neither could afford to alone, said Carolyn Knaup, WakeMed’s senior vice president of Strategic Ventures and Ambulatory Operations. It also would allow them both to replace older, semi-private rooms with 52 new private ones.
Peak Rehabilitation is on Zeno Road, across from WakeMed’s Healthplex, just off the Apex Peakway. It will begin admitting patients Tuesday, Feb. 25.
This story was originally published February 18, 2025 at 2:07 PM.
