An expansion of the UNC Hospitals “Family House” will allow the health care system to serve more out of town patients coming to the Chapel Hill area for treatment.

The SECU Family House, named for a $2 million donation from the State Employees’ Credit Union, provides lodging, meals, transportation and support networks for patients and families. Guests stay as long as long as they need — whether its one night or several months.

Last Wednesday, SECU Family House at UNC Hospitals opened its Pine Wing, which increased the rooms available from 40 to 75. This addition nearly doubles the capacity for patients and family who traveling to Chapel Hill for medical care.

“More patients and their loved ones from throughout North Carolina will have a safe, affordable place to stay when they are far from home and suffering from illness,” SECU Executive Director Janice McAdams said in a release on the opening.

Attendees and speakers at the ribbon-cutting ceremony stand outside the new Pine Wing of the SECU Family House on April 7. (Photo via SECU Family House.)

Through donations from the State Employees’ Credit Union, Blue Cross Blue Shield NC, and UNC Health, the community raised more than $10.3 million to make the expansion possible — which took five years of planning and two years of construction.

Chapel Hill Mayor Pam Hemminger was one of the people invited to the ribbon-cutting ceremony at the building on Old Mason Farm Road.

“They can serve even more families who come to our community for healthcare who need that support services,” Hemminger said. “It’s a wonderful organization, [and I’m] so proud of them for the way they embrace people into our community.”

The house serves all 100 counties in North Carolina and anyone from other states and countries who may come to UNC Hospitals for life-saving procedures and the treatment of serious illnesses. SECU Family House reports serving more than 2,200 families during 2020 and hopes to increase that number in 2021.

 

Photo via SECU Family House

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