Duke Health and UNC Health, the Triangle's two largest health care systems, officially announced Tuesday that they will partner together to build the state's first freestanding children's hospital here.

Two North Carolina-based university health systems have announced an agreement to construct the state’s first standalone children’s hospital.

The facility, called “N.C. Children’s,” was characterized as a “decade-long goal” for both institutions and is expected to lessen the strain on other regional facilities amid increased demand for care.

UNC Health and Duke Health are expected to announce a partnership to build a 500-bed children's hospital in the Triangle, people familiar with the arrangement tell WRAL. It would be the first standalone children's hospital in the state.

The health systems announced on Tuesday a plan to build a more than 100-acre campus for the hospital called, NC Children’s.

Duke Health and UNC Health are partnering on a multibillion-dollar children's hospital in the Triangle. The two health system have formed a new organization, NC Children's, to lead the formation of a 500-bed facility that will become the first freestanding children's hospital in North Carolina.

UNC Health and Duke Health formed a joint venture to build a 500-bed, free-standing children's hospital in the Piedmont, North Carolina, area.